FSSAI Regulation for Glass Bottles and Jars~ Are you compliant?

• Are you aware of the FSSAI regulations/norms for packing product in a glass bottle and glass jar?
• Are glass bottles/glass jars supplied by you, food quality certified?
• Do glass bottles/glass jars conform to FSSAI regulations?
• Can you share any document to help us to become FSSAI compliant?

These are the questions I have been increasingly asked by the product owners who are using glass for packaging their product. The increased curiosity is a result of primarily three factors.

Firstly, the government is quite proactive and leaving no stone unturned to introduce guidelines/regulations in order to promote safe and quality packaging.

Secondly, the product owner is becoming more aware and conscious of the packaging material they are using.

Third but most important, quite of few of my customers packing their product in glass have been fooled in the past by the vendors only to realize it after you’ve made the purchase that the glass containers were not of food grade quality or do not conform to the FSSAI regulations? Sounds familiar, right? But trust me, you are not alone.

The objective of writing this article is simple and clear: To apprise you about the FSSAI packaging regulations, which came into effect in 2019 and how do we ensure that you conform to these regulations.

On January 3, 2019, The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced new regulations with respect to food packaging.

The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 replace the packaging provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011. The food businesses were supposed to comply with these regulations by July 1, 2019.

To read the FSSAI regulations in details, please refer to the link https://fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Gazette_Notification/Gazette_Notification_Packaging_03_01_2019.pdf

Below are few key points relevant to glass packaging after which we will discuss how we can help you to be FSSAI compliant.

What do the Regulations Specify:

The new regulations provides standards which regulate different packaging materials across the packaging supply chain including glass. They provide general and specific requirements with respect to packaging materials for food products (including for glass), which are given below.

The regulations also specify the suggestive list of packaging materials for different food product categories (in this article, specifications for only glass have been provided).

General Requirements for Packaging Materials (including glass):

• Any material which comes in direct contact with food or likely to come in contact with food used for packaging, preparation, storing, wrapping, transportation and sale or service of food should be of food grade quality.
• Packaging materials should be suitable for the type of product, the conditions provided for storage and the equipment for filling, sealing and packaging of food as well as transportation conditions.
• Packaging materials should be able to withstand mechanical, chemical or thermal stresses encountered during normal transportation. In case of flexible or semi-rigid containers, an overwrap packaging may be necessary.
• Food products should be packed in clean, hygienic and tamper-proof package or container. 
• Glass bottles, which are reused for packaging of food, should be suitably durable, easy to clean or disinfect.
• Printed surface of packaging material should not come into direct contact with food products.
• The materials listed in Schedule I, II and III of these regulations should be compatible with their intended use as a packaging material so as not to alter the quality and safety of the food product.

Schedule – IV List of Suggestive Packaging Materials 

The 2019 regulations also provide a list of suggestive packaging materials. which may be used for packaging of food products falling under the specified categories. In the following table below, only glass is covered.

Specific Requirements for Primary Food Packaging: Glass

For glass containers, which are intended to come in contact with food products, regulations specify that as far as possible, they should be free from blisters, mould marks, stones and chipping and as far as possible shall be free from cords, seeds and other visible defects. They should have a smooth surface without cracks, pinholes and sharp edges. The sealing surface should be free from hairline cracks and prominent seam marks.

Now let me discuss how do we make sure that these requirements are met and that you are compliant.

How do you measure, blister, mold marks, stones, seeds, smooth surface, sharp edges? These are not just a terms which are meant to be follow your instinct or gut. There are proper IS standards that are followed to ensure these factors are in control and within the permissible limits.

And here comes the use of AQL (Assured Quality Level). In ISO 2859-1, AQL is defined as the quality level that is the worst tolerable. In other words, it is the maximum number of defective units, beyond which a batch is rejected. Generally, different AQLs are set for critical, big and small defects.

We have AQL levels common for all the bottles supplied by us. AQL help both the vendors and the buyers determine two key parameters. Firstly, out of the total batch, how many glass bottle and/or glass jar samples should be picked and inspected. Secondly, what is the limit between acceptability and refusal, with regard to defective products?

Another point to note in FSSAI regulations is that glass is suggestive packaging material for all the 10 product categories. This itself can be validate the fact that glass is a preferred packaging material across all products. Not only in India but as per US FDA, Glass is the only packaging material having GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) status.

Glass has several advantages over the other packaging materials which the product owner may not have known or known but not paid much attention to when considering the RIGHT SOLUTION for packaging your product. Apart from choosing the right packaging material the choice of right glass bottle/glass jar vendor is also important for the success of your product and brand.

For more details about the benefits of glass packaging as well as checklist for deciding on a the vendor, please refer my other articles on https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/deepankeragarwal/detail/recent-activity/posts/

If you want to conform to FSSAI regulations for glass packaging, connect with me on LinkedIn, or WhatsApp -https://wa.link/jyb8k6.

You can also shop from more than 150+ glass bottles and glass jars on www.ajantabottle.com - India's first ever comprehensive glass bottle and glass jars e-commerce portal.

About the Author: Currently, Deepanker Agarwal is the Director at Ajanta Bottle Private Limited, the company which has been supplying glass bottles, glass jars, and bottle caps to food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries since 1981. In a career span of a decade and a half, Mr. Agarwal, by providing right glass packaging solutions, has helped many leading food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies to build their brand, win customer confidence and increase their bottom-line.