Regulations 1 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 8 of the Ayurveda Aahara Regulations, 2022 define Ayurveda Aahara as food prepared from the authoritative books of Ayurveda, state the general requirements (categories, no products for infants, no added vitamins or minerals, purity criteria), send additives and contaminants to Schedules C and D, tie packaging to the 2018 Regulations, bar sale of non-compliant product and bar disease claims.
The text is read as amended up to 5 May 2022 (the Regulations as notified; no amendment listed; FSSAI Order of 25 July 2025 on category A products). FSSAI publications are reference copies and the Gazette text prevails. Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in. Producers can see our food product approval service for the approvals that Schedule B can require.
"Ayurveda Aahara" is a food prepared in accordance with the recipes, ingredients or processes in the authoritative books of Ayurveda listed in Schedule A, and does not include Ayurvedic drugs or proprietary Ayurvedic medicines. No person may manufacture or sell Ayurveda Aahara for infants up to twenty-four months, no vitamins, minerals or amino acids may be added, and labels may not claim to prevent, treat or cure a human disease.
Regulation 1: title and commencement
Regulation 1(1) gives the title. Regulation 1(2): the Regulations come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette (notified on 5 May 2022). The text sets no separate compliance period.
Regulation 2: definitions
2(b) "Ayurveda Aahara" means a food prepared in accordance with the recipes, ingredients or processes as per method described in the authoritative books of Ayurveda listed under Schedule A, including products which have other botanical ingredients in accordance with the concept of Ayurveda Aahara. It does not include Ayurvedic drugs or proprietary Ayurvedic medicines and medicinal products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances, herbs listed under Schedule E-1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Rules, 1945, metals based Ayurvedic drugs or medicines, bhasma or pishti and any other ingredients notified by the Authority from time to time.
Three Explanations follow:
| Explanation | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Food is as defined in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Recipes and ingredients in the Schedule A books for promoting health or to meet specific physiological needs, including foods for consumption during or after specified diseases or disorders referred to as pathya in Ayurveda, are covered |
| 2 | Adopting the Schedule A processes for industrial scale manufacture and packing is permitted, aimed at producing Ayurveda Aahara with quality and characteristics closely similar to those in the books |
| 3 | Any packed food used in day-to-day life for dietary purpose, such as pulses, rice, flour, vegetables and other foods specified under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, is not covered unless it meets these Regulations; minimally processed food involving cleaning, polishing, dehusking or grading does not fall under them |
Clauses (a), (c) and (d) define "Act", "Food Authority" and "Schedule". The definition of food is explained in section 3 of the FSS Act.
Regulation 3: general requirements
- 3(1) Food Business Operators shall formulate Ayurveda Aahara in accordance with the categories and requirements in Schedule B.
- 3(2) No person shall manufacture or sell Ayurveda Aahara intended for administration to infants up to the age of twenty-four months.
- 3(3) The operator shall manufacture Ayurveda Aahara in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses Regulations, 2011. The hygiene rules themselves sit in the Licensing Regulations; see our article on Schedule 4, Part 1.
- 3(4) No person shall add vitamins, minerals and amino acids to Ayurveda Aahara. A proviso lets natural vitamins and minerals present in the product be declared on the label.
- 3(5) The operator may adopt the purity criteria for ingredients as per the Food Safety and Standards Regulations or generally accepted by pharmacopoeias (Indian Pharmacopoeia, Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, British Pharmacopoeia, United States Pharmacopoeia), or relevant BIS Specifications, or Quality Standards of Indian Medicinal Plants as published by the Indian Council of Medical Research. The operator shall provide information on the purity criteria adopted at the time of licensing and any subsequent changes.
Regulations 4 to 8
| Regulation | Rule |
|---|---|
| 4 Additives | Products shall contain only the food additives specified in Schedule C |
| 5 Contaminants | Products shall conform to the safety requirements in Schedule D |
| 6 Packaging | Ayurveda Aahara shall conform to the Packaging Regulations, 2018 |
| 7 Restriction on sale | No person shall manufacture, pack, sell, offer for sale, market or otherwise distribute or import Ayurveda Aahara unless the product complies with the requirements of the Regulations |
| 8 No disease claim | The labelling, presentation and advertisement shall not claim that the Ayurveda Aahara has the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease or refer to such properties |
Schedules A to E are covered in Schedules A and B and Schedules C, D and E. Regulations 9 to 14, on claims, prior approval, the expert committee and labelling, are in the next article.
What the exclusions mean in practice
The definition marks four boundaries a food operator should test a product against:
- Source. The product must follow the recipe, ingredient or process of a Schedule A book, though botanical ingredients in line with the concept are allowed.
- Drug line. Ayurvedic drugs, proprietary medicines, herbs listed under Schedule E-1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, metal-based preparations, bhasma and pishti are outside the Regulations.
- Ordinary foods. Ordinary packed staples remain under their own food standards.
- Infants. Nothing may be made or sold for infants up to twenty-four months.
Our post on Ayurveda Aahara regulations gives a short overview, and the post on FSSAI compliance for Ayurveda and herbal food looks at the business side.
An invented example
Vaidya Bhojan Foods makes a packaged kanji mix from a recipe in an authoritative book listed in Schedule A. The product qualifies as Ayurveda Aahara if it follows the book's recipe, uses only Schedule C additives, adds no vitamins, and meets Schedule D safety limits. It may not be sold for babies under twenty-four months and may not say it treats diabetes. A packet of plain polished rice from the same company is a day-to-day dietary food under Explanation 3 and stays under its ordinary standard. A herb listed under Schedule E-1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act cannot be an ingredient of a product that is to be Ayurveda Aahara.
Need help with an Ayurveda Aahara product?
Deciding whether a product is Ayurveda Aahara, which category applies and whether prior approval is needed is the first step. Our food product approval team can map the product to the Schedules and prepare the licence and approval file.
Key takeaways
- Ayurveda Aahara means food prepared per the authoritative books in Schedule A; Ayurvedic drugs and proprietary medicines are excluded.
- No Ayurveda Aahara for infants up to twenty-four months; no added vitamins, minerals or amino acids.
- Additives follow Schedule C and contaminants Schedule D; packaging follows the 2018 Regulations.
- No person may sell non-compliant Ayurveda Aahara, and disease claims are barred.
- The Regulations apply from publication; no compliance period is printed.
Read next
- Regulations 9–14: claims, approval and labelling
- Schedules A and B: authoritative books and categories
- Schedules C, D and E: additives, hygiene and logo
- Ayurveda Aahara regulations: an overview
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.