The notified regulations prescribed that pan masala should have a warning statement “CHEWING OF PAN MASALA IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH” and the warning statement must cover 50% of front-of-pack of the label.
These regulations were enforceable with effect from May 1, 2023.
The regulation also prescribed that this warning statement should be clearly legible/audible in advertisements related to pan masala.
Meanwhile, FSSAI has stated that the decision to extend the timeline was taken after consideration of the representation submitted to the food authority by the stakeholders.
“It has been decided to defer the enforcement of the note: ‘the warning statement must cover 50% of front-of-the-pack of the label’ in Schedule II of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Second Amendment Regulations, 2022, for a period of three months from the date of enforcement i.e., 1st May 2023,” reads the order.
The FSSAI statement added that in the representation the stakeholders had asked the food authority for an extension to exhaust the packaging material having the existing warning and to arrange the new packaging material with new guidelines.
