The link between food packaging and consumer protection is of high significance. A package is a vehicle of safety and achieves the objective of delivering safe, wholesome, nutritious food to the consumer. To safeguard the interests of the consumer and the society at large, Packaging Laws and Regulations have been introduced by the Government.
The Packaging Laws and Regulations for food products are mainly covered under: • The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977 (SWMA). • The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 and its first ammendment, 2003 (PFA). • The Fruit Products Order, 1955 (FPO) • The Meat Food Products Order, 1973 (MFPO) • The Edible Oil Packaging Order, 1998 • The Agmark Rules
Food businesses must include a business name and address on the packaging or food label. This must be either: the name of the business whose name the food is marketed under; or. the address of the business that has imported the food
Products must be labeled per the Act with the following: Declaration of identity. Declaration of responsibility (name and address of manufacturer, packer, or distributor) Declaration of net quantity, servings, or uses.