FSSAI Food Packaging Rules: Complete Guide to Compliance in 2025

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has built a regulatory framework around food packaging that touches every link in the supply chain -- from the manufacturer moulding a polypropylene container to the cloud kitchen sealing a biryani box for delivery. If your business produces, supplies, or uses food packaging in India, FSSAI rules apply to you. Violations carry fines that can reach Rs 5 lakh and, in severe cases, imprisonment.

This guide consolidates the scattered provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and its subordinate regulations into a single reference, with specific section numbers, practical compliance steps, and a checklist you can put to use immediately.

The Governing Legislation

FSSAI food packaging rules draw authority from several layers of regulation. Understanding which document governs which requirement prevents confusion when auditors or food safety officers cite specific provisions.

Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

The parent Act establishes FSSAI as the regulatory body (Section 4) and grants it the power to frame regulations on packaging and labelling (Section 22). Section 26 requires that no person shall manufacture, store, sell, or distribute any article of food in packaging that does not comply with the requirements of the Act and its regulations. Section 50 through Section 68 prescribe the penalties.

Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018

This is the principal regulation for food contact materials. Notified on 17 July 2018 and effective from 1 July 2019, it replaced earlier, fragmented provisions with a unified framework. The regulation covers materials permitted for food contact (Regulation 2), general requirements for all food contact materials (Regulation 3), specific requirements for plastics, paper, metals, glass, ceramics, rubber, and coatings (Regulations 4 through 10), and migration limits both overall and substance-specific.

Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011

Amended multiple times since its notification, this regulation governs the information that must appear on the label of pre-packaged food products. While labelling is a distinct compliance area from material safety, the two are interconnected -- a product that uses compliant packaging material but carries non-compliant labelling still faces penalties.

BIS Standards Referenced by FSSAI

FSSAI regulations do not operate in isolation. They reference Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications for material-level compliance. IS 9845:1998 for food-grade plastics, IS 6615 for food-grade paper, IS 15495 for aluminium foil, IS 2467 for glass, and IS 4853 for ceramics are the most frequently cited. Compliance with FSSAI packaging rules effectively requires compliance with these BIS standards as well.

Materials Permitted for Food Contact

Regulation 2.1 of the Packaging Regulations, 2018 establishes the fundamental principle: materials and articles intended to come into contact with food shall not transfer their constituents to food in quantities that could endanger human health, cause an unacceptable change in the composition of food, or cause deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics of food.

The regulation then lists approved material categories with their corresponding BIS standards:

Material Category	Applicable BIS Standard	Key Compliance Parameter
Plastics (PP, PET, HDPE, LDPE, PS)	IS 9845:1998	Overall migration limit: 60 mg/kg; specific migration limits per substance
Paper and paperboard	IS 6615	No recycled content with printing ink; fluorescent whitening agents restricted
Metal (aluminium, tinplate)	IS 15495 (aluminium foil)	Lead below 10 ppm; arsenic below 2 ppm; food-grade lacquer coatings
Glass	IS 2467	Lead and cadmium release limits; thermal shock resistance
Ceramics	IS 4853	Lead and cadmium release limits by vessel category
Rubber and silicone	IS 3400 (various parts)	Volatile matter limits; extractable metal content
Natural materials (bagasse, areca leaf, bamboo, wood)	General FSSAI food safety requirements	No harmful chemical treatment; no migration of natural toxins above safe levels

A material not on this approved list, or one that fails the migration requirements, cannot legally be used for food contact in India. This is a blanket prohibition under Regulation 2.4 -- there is no exemption process for non-compliant materials.

Migration Limits Explained

Migration is the transfer of substances from packaging material into food. It is the central compliance metric in FSSAI packaging regulation, and the area where most violations occur.

Overall Migration Limit (OML)

The total mass of all non-volatile substances that migrate from the packaging material into food or food simulant must not exceed 60 mg/kg of food (or equivalently, 10 mg/dm2 of the packaging surface). This limit applies to all food contact materials and is tested using standardised food simulants under conditions that replicate actual use.

Specific Migration Limits (SML)

In addition to the overall limit, individual substances have their own maximum migration thresholds. These are particularly relevant for plastics, which contain additives, plasticisers, stabilisers, and colorants that may migrate independently:

• Lead: Not more than 1 mg/kg
• Bisphenol A (BPA): Not more than 0.6 mg/kg (under review for further reduction)
• Phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP): Individually limited; DEHP at 1.5 mg/kg, DBP at 0.3 mg/kg
• Vinyl chloride monomer: Not more than 0.01 mg/kg
• Acrylonitrile: Not more than 0.02 mg/kg
• Formaldehyde: Not more than 15 mg/kg (for melamine-formaldehyde articles)

These limits are cumulative with the OML. A packaging material that passes the OML but exceeds any SML is non-compliant.

Food Simulants and Test Conditions

Testing is conducted with food simulants that replicate the chemical behaviour of different food categories. Distilled water represents aqueous foods. 3% acetic acid represents acidic foods such as pickles, lemon juice, and curd. 15% ethanol represents alcoholic beverages. n-Heptane or rectified olive oil represents fatty foods such as oil-based gravies, fried items, and butter. Standard test conditions are 40 degrees Celsius for 10 days, simulating long-term room temperature storage. For hot-fill or microwave applications, higher temperatures (up to 175 degrees Celsius for shorter durations) are prescribed.

Specific Prohibitions Under FSSAI Rules

Beyond setting positive standards, FSSAI rules explicitly prohibit certain practices that remain common in the Indian food service industry:

• Newspaper wrapping: Using newspapers or any printed paper for wrapping, storing, or serving food is prohibited. Printing inks contain lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals that transfer to food on contact. FSSAI issued a specific advisory on this in 2019.
• Recycled plastics for direct food contact: Unless the recycled plastic has been processed through an FSSAI/BIS-approved recycling technology that produces food-contact-grade material, recycled plastic must not be used for direct food contact.
• Non-food-grade coatings on metal containers: Aluminium and tin containers with lacquer or polymer coatings must use food-grade coatings only. Industrial-grade lacquers are prohibited.
• Printing on food-contact surfaces: The inner surface of any food packaging that contacts food directly must not carry printing. Printed branding must remain on the exterior surface.

Labelling Rules for Packaged Food

The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 mandate specific information on labels of pre-packaged food products. While disposable food service packaging (plates, cups, containers used by restaurants) is exempt from consumer labelling on each unit, the packaging material itself must bear identification markings for traceability.

Mandatory Label Elements for Pre-Packaged Food

• Product name and brand name
• Complete list of ingredients in descending order of composition
• Nutritional information panel
• Net quantity in metric units
• FSSAI licence or registration number with the prescribed FSSAI logo
• Manufacturer's name and complete address
• Date of manufacture and best before / use by date
• Lot or batch identification number
• Vegetarian / non-vegetarian symbol (green circle / brown triangle)
• Allergen declaration (from the list of 8 notified allergens)
• Country of origin (for imported products)

Recycling Symbols on Packaging

Under the Plastic Waste Management Rules read with FSSAI guidelines, plastic packaging must carry the appropriate recycling symbol (resin identification code 1 through 7) to indicate the type of plastic. This aids waste segregation and is increasingly enforced during inspections.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 prescribes graded penalties for packaging violations. These are not theoretical -- FSSAI enforcement has increased substantially since 2020, with over 4,500 improvement notices and 800 prosecutions related to packaging and labelling in the 2023-24 enforcement year.

Violation	Applicable Section	Maximum Penalty
Sub-standard packaging material	Section 52	Rs 5 lakh fine
Selling food in contaminated packaging	Section 50	Rs 1 lakh fine and/or 6 months imprisonment
Misleading or false labelling	Section 53	Rs 3 lakh fine
Packaging that renders food injurious to health	Section 59	Rs 5 lakh fine and/or 6 months imprisonment
Obstructing a food safety officer during inspection	Section 55	Rs 2 lakh fine and/or 3 months imprisonment

Repeated violations can lead to licence suspension (Section 32) or cancellation (Section 33), effectively shutting down the business.

Compliance Checklist for Food Businesses

Use this checklist to verify your packaging compliance status. Each item corresponds to a specific regulatory requirement.

• All packaging materials sourced from suppliers who provide FSSAI food-contact compliance certificates
• Migration test reports (OML and SML) available on file for every packaging product in use
• BIS certification documents (IS 9845 for plastics, IS 6615 for paper) obtained from supplier for each product category
• No newspaper, recycled non-food-grade paper, or non-food-grade recycled plastic in use anywhere in the establishment
• Printed packaging has printing only on exterior, non-food-contact surfaces
• FSSAI licence or registration number displayed prominently at business premises
• Pre-packaged food products carry all mandatory label elements per the 2011 Labelling Regulations
• Supplier invoices with product descriptions and material specifications maintained for at least 2 years
• Staff trained on prohibited packaging practices, with training documented
• Packaging stored in clean, dry conditions away from chemicals, cleaning agents, and direct sunlight

How FSSAI Rules Intersect with Other Regulations

Food packaging in India sits at the intersection of multiple regulatory frameworks. FSSAI governs food safety aspects, but the same packaging products are also subject to the Plastic Waste Management Rules (environmental compliance), BIS mandatory certification for certain product categories, the Legal Metrology Act for net quantity declarations, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework for post-consumer waste management, and GST regulations for tax classification.

A food business that focuses only on FSSAI compliance while ignoring environmental or tax regulations remains at risk. The most practical approach is to source from wholesale suppliers who maintain compliance across all applicable frameworks and can provide consolidated documentation.

Sourcing Compliant Packaging

For food businesses, the simplest compliance strategy is to shift the documentation burden to your supplier. A reputable wholesale packaging distributor will maintain FSSAI food-contact certificates, BIS test reports, migration testing documentation, and proper GST invoicing with correct HSN codes for every product in their catalogue. When you buy from such a supplier, you inherit their compliance documentation.

Success Marketing has supplied food-grade disposable packaging to restaurants, caterers, hotels, and cloud kitchens across India since 1991. Every product in our range -- from paper cups and aluminium containers to bagasse plates and kraft paper bags -- comes with the compliance documentation your business needs for FSSAI inspections.