FSSAI CEO calls for stronger food-safety standards to build trust in Indian retail

What to watch

• New FSSAI advisories, mandatory traceability rules, revised inspection protocols or category-specific standards.
• Expansion of risk-based digital inspections, food-recall reporting requirements or public disclosure of non-compliance.
• Major enforcement actions involving organised retailers, dark stores, private labels or online food platforms.
• Retailer launches of traceability labels, safety dashboards, supplier-scorecard disclosures or third-party audit partnerships.
• Rising consumer attention to adulteration, contamination incidents, product recalls and food-safety ratings.
• State food-safety departments adding testing capacity, digitised licensing or coordinated enforcement drives.
• Audit private-label, fresh-food and prepared-food supplier documentation against likely traceability and testing requirements.
• Prioritise digital batch tracking, cold-chain monitoring, expiry management and rapid recall capabilities for high-risk categories.
• Create a consumer-facing food-safety trust architecture, including QR-accessible source, test and handling information where operationally credible.
• Segment suppliers by risk and readiness; offer compliance support to strategic small suppliers while establishing exit plans for persistent non-compliance.
• Prepare for higher quality-assurance costs in fresh, dairy, meat, seafood, ready-to-eat and quick-commerce fulfilment operations.