Regulations explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Regulations 1 to 4 open the Food Recall Procedure Regulations, 2017. They give the title and commencement, define eight terms such as "food recall", "food under recall" and "recall alert", state three objectives and say which foods the recall procedure applies to: food that is determined, or prima facie considered, unsafe.
This article reads the text as amended up to 18 January 2017 (the Regulations as notified; FSSAI lists no amendment as at 2 October 2026). FSSAI regulations are published in the Gazette, and any compendium or copy on a website is a reference consolidation, with the Gazette text prevailing. Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in.
A "food recall" is the action to remove food from the market at any stage of the food chain, including food possessed by consumers. The recall procedure applies to food or food products determined or prima facie considered unsafe, or as the Food Authority may specify, and its three objectives are removal of the food from all stages of the food chain under section 28 of the Act, dissemination of information to concerned consumers and customers, and retrieval, destruction or reprocessing. The Regulations came into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. Manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and food service businesses are affected, to different degrees. Help with a recall plan is available through FSSAI compliance support.
Regulation 1: title and commencement
Regulation 1(1) gives the title: the Food Safety and Standards (Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2017. Regulation 1(2) says they shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
Regulation 2: the definitions
Regulation 2(1) defines eight terms "unless the context otherwise requires".
| Clause | Term | Meaning as printed |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | "Act" | the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006) |
| (b) | "food chain" | for these regulations, includes food involved in manufacture, processing, distribution, sale, import and export |
| (c) | "food recall" | the action to remove food from the market at any stage of the food chain, including that possessed by consumers |
| (d) | "food recall plan" | the procedures and arrangements that a food business operator shall have in place to retrieve food and food products from the food chain if a problem arises |
| (e) | "food under recall" | the specific lot or batch or code number of food product determined by the Food Authority, the Commissioner of Food Safety of the State or Union territory or the Food Business Operator as not in compliance with the Act or rules or regulations |
| (f) | "recall alert" | any alert issued to the public by the Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI, the Commissioner of Food Safety or the Food Business Operator under intimation to the CEO and the concerned Commissioner(s), about the food under recall |
| (g) | "traceability" | the ability to follow the movement of a food article through specified stage(s) of its production, processing and distribution |
| (h) | "unsafe food" | food as defined under clause (zz) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Act |
Regulation 2(2) adds that all other words and expressions not defined here but defined in the Act, rules or regulations carry those meanings. The Act's definition of unsafe food is dealt with in our post on section 3 of the FSS Act on sale of sub-standard and unsafe food.
Three features of the definitions matter in practice. "Food chain" is wide: it includes import and export. "Food under recall" is not the whole product but "the specific lot or batch or code number". And a recall alert may be issued by the business itself, as long as it is under intimation to the CEO and the concerned Commissioner(s).
Regulation 3: objectives
Regulation 3 says the objectives of the food recall procedure are to:
- ensure removal of food under recall from all stages of the food chain in accordance with section 28 of the Act;
- ensure dissemination of information to concerned consumers and customers; and
- ensure retrieval, destruction or reprocessing of food under recall.
These objectives line up with the later regulations: removal (regulations 5 to 7), information (regulation 8) and retrieval and disposal (regulation 10). Section 28 of the Act is named in the text and nothing from inside it is stated here.
Regulation 4: scope
The Regulations apply to food or food products that are determined or prima facie considered unsafe and/or as may be specified by the Food Authority from time to time.
An Explanation adds: food articles which require the mandatory mention of statutory warnings related to consumption being "injurious to health" may not be treated as unsafe food as part of any recall plan unless they are specifically determined unsafe and injurious to health.
An invented example: Greenfield Snacks sells a product with a mandatory statutory warning on its label. The warning alone does not make it "unsafe food" for a recall plan; it is treated as unsafe only if specifically determined unsafe and injurious to health. Food the Authority specifies for recall is covered whatever its label says.
A one-screen map of the rest of the Regulations
| Regulation | Subject | Article in this series |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 8 | initiation, operation of the recall system, recall plan and communication | Regulations 5 to 8 |
| 9 to 13 | status report, recovery, post-recall report, termination, follow-up | Regulations 9 to 13 |
| 14 to 16 | responsibilities of the FBO, the Commissioner and the Food Authority; Schedules I to III | Regulations 14 to 16 |
For a general overview, see food recall regulation 2017 and classification and when and how to recall unsafe products.
Who is affected
The Regulations speak of "food business operator" across the food chain. Regulation 7, covered in the next article, says who must hold a written recall plan; manufacturers, importers and wholesale suppliers must, and certain retailers and food service businesses need not. Whatever the category, all operators in the chain have to carry out recall instructions (regulation 5(5)).
Need help with a recall plan?
A recall plan has to be ready before a problem occurs. Our FSSAI compliance support service helps manufacturers, importers and wholesalers prepare a plan, the distribution records and the formats the Schedules require.
Key takeaways
- A food recall removes food from the market at any stage of the food chain, including food held by consumers.
- A recall alert may come from the CEO, a Commissioner or the food business operator itself.
- The three objectives are removal, information and retrieval, destruction or reprocessing.
- The Regulations apply to food determined or prima facie considered unsafe, or as the Food Authority specifies.
- A statutory warning alone does not make food unsafe for a recall plan.
Read next
- Regulations 5–8: initiation, plan and communication
- Regulations 9–13: status reports, recovery and termination
- Food recall regulation 2017: classification
- Food recall: when and how to recall unsafe products
Disclaimer: Based on the FSSAI regulations named above as consolidated in FSSAI's compendium versions or as published in the Gazette, with the later notifications the article names (consulted on fssai.gov.in on 2-3 October 2026). Later notifications and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provisions referred to should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.