FSSAI may allow sweets, flowers, malt-based ingredients in ice creams

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) may allow ice cream makers to include several new non-dairy ingredients, such as coffee and tea extracts, malt and malt-based products, salt, sweets, herbs, and petals of flowers like rose, marigold, lavender, jasmine, and saffron.

The regulator held a meeting with stakeholders on 7 April to discuss existing standards for different groups of food items, including ice cream, kulfi, chocolate ice cream, softy ice cream, milk ice, milk lolly, and dried ice cream mix, among other varieties.

The meeting followed representations from industry stakeholders urging the regulator to revise standards because adding these ingredients pushes ice creams or frozen desserts into the proprietary food product category.

To be sure, many smaller ice cream and frozen dessert brands already use some of these ingredients in their products. "Manufacturers are inadvertently making some errors, which need to be clarified. Ingredients like coffee and tea extracts, herbs, and flower petals are not allowed to be used in ice creams and frozen desserts. So, after the changes, if the proposed ingredients are added, ice creams will not become proprietary food products; they will remain ice cream," said an industry stakeholder.

India's organized ice cream and frozen dessert sector has about 100 manufacturers with many popular brands. “However, the unorganized sector is much bigger. It is likely that unregistered ice cream makers are unaware or unable to follow FSSAI standards," said a second industry stakeholder.

"This entire exercise is aimed at making standards more contemporary," they added.

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The revisions will allow ice cream brands to add new varieties and flavours and make their products healthier. “These proposed ingredients will help prevent the addition of harmful artificial flavour and colouring agents in ice creams," said Dr Mohsin Wali, senior consultant, department of medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Once finalized, the regulator will issue a draft notification, said one of the officials mentioned above, on the condition of anonymity.

As part of the protocol, the FSSAI should invite comments and suggestions from stakeholders before taking a final call.

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The regulator will also clearly distinguish between ice creams and frozen desserts. “The FSSAI is revisiting standards for ice creams to come up with a clear definition, manufacturing and labelling requirements," said the government official who participated in the meeting.

Contrary to perception, frozen desserts and ice creams are the same in every respect except the source of fat. Ice creams use dairy fat, and frozen desserts use vegetable oil. Both are made from milk, said the first industry stakeholder.

Ultra-processed food consumption

According to the Indian Ice-cream Manufacturer's Association (IICMA), India has a ₹30,000 crore ice cream market, with a per capita consumption of 450 ml of ice creams and frozen desserts, which is growing rapidly at over 10% year-on-year.

The FSSAI move also assumes significance in light of the Economic Survey 2024-25 highlighting the need for stringent regulations for ultra-processed foods. India’s consumption of ultra-processed foods shot up from about $900 million in 2006 to more than $37.9 billion in 2019, according to a 2023 World Health Organization report.

"Moderation is key. While traditional ice creams made from milk and natural sweeteners can provide some calcium and protein, many commercial frozen desserts are high in added sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial additives. Most commercially available ice creams and frozen desserts fall into the category of ultra-processed foods, which can negatively affect gut health and metabolism, said Dr Mugdha Tapdiya, director-internal medicine, Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj.

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By definition, ultra-processed foods are mainly made from substances extracted from whole foods and additives such as flavours, colours, stabilizers, and emulsifiers. Ice creams and frozen desserts fall squarely into this category, added Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, public health expert and former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cochin Chapter.

Queries sent to the FSSAI, Union health ministry, and the IICMA remained unanswered till the time of publishing.