Section 19 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.
Section 19 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is one sentence long, but it controls what a manufacturer may add to food. It says no article of food may contain a food additive or processing aid unless the use is in accordance with the Act and the regulations made under it. An Explanation defines "processing aid".
A food may carry an additive or processing aid only if the Act and the regulations permit it (s.19). A "processing aid" is a substance, other than apparatus or utensils, that is not eaten as a food ingredient by itself and is used during processing for a technological purpose. The section does not itself list permitted substances or limits; the regulations do. Adding something that is not permitted can make the food "unsafe food" under s.3(1)(zz), which is punished under s.59.
What section 19 says
The operative text is short: "No article of food shall contain any food additive or processing aid unless it is in accordance with the provisions of this Act and regulations made thereunder."
Two points follow from the wording.
- It is a rule about the finished article. The word used is "contain". The test is what the food contains when it is made, stored, sold or imported, not only what the factory put in.
- It is a permission model. The default is prohibition. The additive or processing aid must be allowed by the Act or the regulations. If the regulations are silent on a substance for a particular food, the safe reading is that you cannot use it.
The Act does not name any additive, class of additive or limit. Those are in the food standards and additive regulations notified by the Food Authority, which are not reproduced here. For the substances allowed in your product, check the standards notified by the Food Authority on fssai.gov.in. Our general note on the permitted list of additives and processing aids gives the working picture.
The definition of "processing aid"
The Explanation to s.19 says "processing aid" means any substance or material that:
- is not apparatus or utensils;
- is not consumed as a food ingredient by itself;
- is used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing; and
- may result in the non-intentional but unavoidable presence of residues or derivatives in the final product.
The last limb is the useful one for compliance. A processing aid is not meant to be in the final food. If traces remain, they are an unavoidable by-product. That separates it from an additive, which is put in to stay in the food. Section 19 covers both, so the classification matters less than this question: is the substance allowed for this food, at this level, under the regulations?
If you want a review of whether an ingredient or processing substance in your recipe is allowed, our food product approval service can go through it with you.
Who the section affects
The section speaks of "no article of food", so it reaches everyone who deals in food, but in practice the risk is concentrated in a few places.
| Who | Where s.19 bites |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer or packer | Recipe design, choice of preservative, colour, sweetener or processing substance |
| Contract manufacturer | Must follow the brand owner's formula, but is equally liable for what the product contains |
| Importer | Imported food must not contain an additive not allowed here (see s.25(1)(iii), on imports in contravention of the Act or regulations) |
| Wholesaler, distributor, retailer | Liable for unsafe or misbranded food they handle (s.27), so a supplier's non-permitted additive becomes their problem too |
| Restaurant and caterer | Colours and flavour enhancers added in the kitchen are within the section |
What happens if an additive is not permitted
Section 19 has no penalty clause of its own. The consequences come from elsewhere in the Act.
- Unsafe food. Under s.3(1)(zz), food is "unsafe" if its nature, substance or quality is so affected as to render it injurious to health by, among other things, "addition of a substance directly or as an ingredient which is not permitted" (clause (v)) or "the presence of any colouring matter or preservatives other than that specified" (clause (viii)). Note the test has two parts: the substance is not permitted and the food is rendered injurious to health. The person who manufactures for sale, stores, sells, distributes or imports unsafe food is punishable under s.59. Clause (i) of s.59, as amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, carries imprisonment up to three months and fine up to three lakh rupees where there is no injury; the higher clauses apply where injury or death results.
- Sub-standard or misbranded food. An additive not allowed by the standard, or one not declared as the labelling rules require, can also push the food into those categories. Sub-standard food attracts a penalty up to five lakh rupees under s.51, and misbranded food up to three lakh rupees under s.52. See our posts on section 51 and section 52.
- Residuary penalty. A contravention of any provision for which no penalty is separately provided is punishable under s.58 with a penalty up to two lakh rupees; see our article on sections 58 and 64.
How the authorities classify a given case depends on the facts and the lab report. This article does not predict it.
Two practical examples
A sauce manufacturer changes its preservative. The buyer asks for a longer shelf life, so the plant adds a preservative it has used in another product. Section 19 requires the change to be checked against the regulations for that food category before the new batch is made. If the preservative is not permitted for sauces, the product is exposed to action even though the old recipe was compliant.
A bakery uses a processing aid. The bakery uses a substance only to ease release from trays, and a trace stays on the bread. If the regulations permit that substance in that role, the trace is the "non-intentional but unavoidable presence" that the Explanation contemplates. If they do not, s.19 is breached. The definition explains the substance; it does not itself make it lawful.
Need help with additive and recipe compliance?
If you are planning a new recipe, a new supplier or a new product category and want the additives and processing aids checked against the regulations before production, TaxClue can work through it with your team. Start on our food product approval page.
Key takeaways
- Section 19 allows an additive or processing aid in food only if the Act and regulations permit it.
- A processing aid is a non-apparatus substance, not eaten by itself, used for a technological purpose and possibly leaving unavoidable residues.
- The Act lists no substances; the regulations notified by the Food Authority do.
- A non-permitted additive can make food "unsafe" (s.3(1)(zz)(v) and (viii)), sub-standard or misbranded, each with its own penalty.
- Check the regulations again whenever a recipe, supplier or category changes.
Read next
- Food Additives and Processing Aids: permitted list
- Section 20: contaminants and naturally occurring toxic substances
- Section 22: genetically modified, organic, functional and proprietary foods
- Prohibition of certain substances in food
Disclaimer: Based on the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 as enacted, read with the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 where it applies (ss.59, 61 and 63 only). Additive lists and limits are in regulations not reproduced here. Verify current notifications, regulations and FSSAI orders before acting.