Section 3 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.
This article covers clauses (q) to (zf) of section 3(1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. They define food safety, food safety audit, Food Safety Management System, Food Safety Officer, hazard, import, improvement notice, infant food, ingredient, label, licence, local area, manufacture, manufacturer, Member and, at length, misbranded food in clause (zf). Clause (zf) is the longest definition in the Act and the one most food labels are tested against.
A "label" is any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or descriptive matter on or attached to a food package and includes a product insert. A "manufacturer" includes a person who only packs and labels or only labels another person's product. Food is "misbranded" under clause (zf) in three groups of cases: false, misleading or deceptive claims or names (A), deceptive or imitative packaging and false origin (B), and missing or wrong declarations on the package (C). Each one can lead to penalty under section 52.
Clauses (q) to (zf) at a glance
| Clause | Term | Core meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (q) | Food safety | Assurance that food is acceptable for human consumption according to its intended use |
| (r) | Food safety audit | A systematic and functionally independent examination of the food safety measures adopted by manufacturing units, to see whether the measures and results meet the food safety objectives and the claims made |
| (s) | Food Safety Management System | Adoption of Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Hygienic Practices, HACCP and other practices specified by regulation |
| (t) | Food Safety Officer | Officer appointed under section 37 |
| (u) | Hazard | A biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with potential to cause an adverse health effect |
| (v) | Import | Bringing into India any article of food by land, sea or air |
| (w) | Improvement notice | A notice issued under section 32 |
| (x) | Infant food, infant milk substitute | As in clauses (f) and (g) of s.2(1) of the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 |
| (y) | Ingredient | Any substance, including a food additive, used in manufacture or preparation and present in the final product, possibly in modified form |
| (z) | Label | Any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed, graphic, perforated, stamped or impressed on or attached to a container, cover, lid or crown of any food package, including a product insert |
| (za) | Licence | A licence granted under section 31 |
| (zb) | Local area | Any area, urban or rural, notified by the Commissioner of Food Safety to be a local area |
| (zc) | Manufacture | A process, adaptation or treatment converting ingredients into an article of food, including any sub-process incidental or ancillary to it |
| (zd) | Manufacturer | A person engaged in manufacturing any article of food for sale, including a person who obtains it from another person and packs and labels it, or only labels it, for sale |
| (ze) | Member | Member of the Food Authority, including the Chairperson |
| (zf) | Misbranded food | See below |
Food safety, FSMS and audit: the compliance vocabulary
Clause (q) makes "food safety" an assurance: food is acceptable for human consumption according to its intended use. A product can be safe for one use and not another, so the intended use printed on the pack and in the advertising matters.
Clause (s) defines the Food Safety Management System as the adoption of Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Hygienic Practices, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and such other practices as may be specified by regulation. This is the legal hook for the hygiene conditions in the Licensing Regulations; see the later articles on Schedule 4 Part II. Our templates on the food safety management plan and HACCP plan show how businesses document it.
Clause (r) defines a food safety audit as a systematic and functionally independent examination. "Independent" is the operative word: an audit by the person who runs the line is an internal check, not a food safety audit as defined. The link to recognition of audit agencies under section 44 follows from this.
Clause (u) defines a hazard as a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect. Risk, risk assessment and the related terms follow in clauses (zm) to (zq) and are covered in the next definitions article.
Label, ingredient and manufacturer
The label definition is wide: it covers anything written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed, graphic, perforated, stamped or impressed on or attached to the container, cover, lid or crown of a food package, and it includes a product insert. A leaflet inside the pack is therefore part of the label, and claims in it are judged like claims on the outer wrapper. For the labelling duty itself, see section 23 and our guide to labelling requirements.
"Ingredient" in clause (y) includes a food additive used in manufacture or preparation and present in the final product, possibly in a modified form.
Clause (zd) deserves attention from brand owners. A manufacturer includes a person who obtains the article from another person and packs and labels it for sale, or only labels it. A marketer who gets goods made elsewhere and puts his own label on them is a "manufacturer" for the Act, and carries the liability that comes with that status. If you rely on a contract manufacturer, your FSSAI label compliance check should cover the label you apply, not only the factory that filled the pack.
Misbranded food: clause (zf) in three groups
An article of food is misbranded in each of these situations.
Group A: claims, names and makers (if it is purported or represented to be, or is being)
- Offered or promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims, either on the label of the package or through advertisement.
- Sold by a name which belongs to another article of food.
- Offered or promoted for sale under the name of a fictitious individual or company as the manufacturer or producer, as borne on the package or label.
Group B: sealed packages bearing the maker's name and address, but
- The article is an imitation of, or substitute for, or resembles in a manner likely to deceive, another article of food under whose name it is sold, and is not plainly and conspicuously labelled to show its true character.
- The package or label carries a statement, design or device about the ingredients or substances contained that is false or misleading in any material particular, or the package is otherwise deceptive about its contents.
- The article is offered for sale as the product of a place or country which is false.
Group C: declaration and information failures
- The article contains any artificial flavouring, colouring or chemical preservative and the package has no declaratory label stating that fact, or is not labelled as the Act or regulations require.
- It is offered for sale for special dietary uses and its label lacks the information specified by regulation about vitamins, minerals or other dietary properties.
- The statement on the outside of the package is not conspicuous or not correct, within the limits of variability laid down under the Act (the clause does not spell out the item, but in practice this is the net quantity or content declaration).
Two practical points. First, Group A applies whether the false claim is on the pack or in an advertisement, so a clean label does not save a misleading web listing. Second, misbranding is a separate concept from "unsafe" or "sub-standard". An article can be perfectly safe and still misbranded. The consequences are in section 52 (misbranded food); misbranding also feeds into the definition of unsafe food in clause (zz)(xi).
A worked example: a snack brand sells sealed packs with its own name and address. The front says "no added colour", but the ingredient list shows an artificial colour. That is a false statement about the contents (Group B, item 2), and also a failure of the declaratory label requirement if the colour is not declared (Group C, item 1).
Licence, local area and improvement notice
A "licence" under clause (za) means a licence granted under section 31. A "local area" under clause (zb) is an area notified by the Commissioner of Food Safety, which matters for the special licensing procedure for certain local areas in the Regulations. An "improvement notice" is a notice under section 32; see our note on how to respond to an improvement notice.
Need help with food labels?
If you are launching a packaged product or relabelling one, TaxClue can check your label and claims against the misbranding limbs above. Our FSSAI label compliance service explains how a label review works and what documents we need from you.
Key takeaways
- A label includes a product insert; claims anywhere on the pack or in an advertisement can make food misbranded.
- A marketer who packs and labels, or only labels, another person's product is a "manufacturer".
- The Food Safety Management System means GMP, GHP, HACCP and other practices specified by regulation.
- Clause (zf) has three groups: deceptive claims and names, deceptive packaging and false origin, and declaration failures.
- Misbranded food is not the same as unsafe or sub-standard food, but misbranding feeds into the definition of unsafe food.
Read next
- Section 52: penalty for misbranded food
- Packaging and labelling of food: section 23
- Section 3 definitions: food business and FBO
- Section 3 definitions: sale, sub-standard and unsafe 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). Labelling requirements sit in separate regulations that this article does not reproduce. Verify current notifications, regulations and FSSAI orders before acting.