中文Food safety in India is expanding its perimeter, and packaging is now firmly inside it. That was the central message from Amit Sharma, executive director of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), during his keynote at the 13th Specialty Films & Flexible Packaging Global Summit in Mumbai. With more than 7.2 million food business operators across the country, the food ecosystem touches packaging at virtually every stage, and Sharma made clear that compliance increasingly extends beyond the food processor to the materials that come into contact with food.
Compliance with food-contact packaging requirements is already part of the inspection checklist for food businesses. Packaging is examined for food-grade certification and conformity with overall and specific migration limits. Non-compliance can be classified as a major non-conformity and may result in suspension or cancellation of licences. Sharma pointed to a recent case in which packaging-related non-compliance led to the seizure of material worth approximately 45 crore Indian rupees, involving heavy-metal migration from material contacting food. FSSAI is now moving to hold packaging material manufacturers and suppliers accountable in such cases. ‘We have come across several cases where the packaging material is non-compliant with respect to safety limits, and now they will also be made a party to all the proceedings,’ he said.
The authority is also preparing to widen its surveillance programme. From November 2026, FSSAI plans a pan-India surveillance exercise focused specifically on packaging materials. Samples will be collected from packaging manufacturers as well as food business operators, with the results helping identify compliance hotspots and guide enforcement action. For the flexible packaging industry, the message is unambiguous, packaging performance can no longer be viewed separately from food safety.
Beyond enforcement, Sharma used the summit to raise two broader issues. The first was biodegradable packaging, particularly for small-format packs more likely to end up in the open environment. He called on the industry to develop alternatives that combine biodegradability with the required oxygen and moisture barrier properties, suggesting that movement from circularity and sustainability toward biodegradability deserves a roadmap the authority and central government would support.
The second was microplastics and nanoplastics. While food-contact materials are only one of several potential sources, Sharma said the subject requires greater scientific attention and investment from researchers and industry. He also noted growing interest in expanding recycled polymers in food-contact applications. FSSAI has already approved recycled PET under defined conditions, while proposals relating to recycled polypropylene and polyethylene are under scientific consideration.
For converters and material suppliers, the converging agenda, migration compliance, recycled content, environmental performance and emerging concerns such as microplastics, means that technical and regulatory capability is becoming a core differentiator. The flexible packaging industry, long focused on barrier, shelf life and cost, must now treat food-safety science as part of its daily operations.
The direction of travel is clear. Packaging in India is being redefined not merely as a container but as a regulated component of the food safety system, with manufacturers sharing responsibility for what reaches the consumer.
Source: Based on reporting from The Packman.
India’s packaging sector is large and fast-growing, and FSSAI’s tighter stance brings it closer to regimes in the European Union and United States, where food-contact materials have long faced migration limits and positive lists of approved substances. The difference in India has been enforcement depth, something the November 2026 surveillance exercise is designed to correct by pulling samples directly from material manufacturers, not just food producers.
For converters and substrate suppliers, the shift creates both risk and opportunity. Those already investing in compliant, low-migration inks, adhesives and films will be well placed as scrutiny rises, while laggards face seizure, licence action and reputational damage. The reported 45 crore rupee seizure tied to heavy-metal migration is a warning that non-compliance is no longer a theoretical risk.
The emphasis on biodegradability for small formats and on microplastics research also nudges the industry toward materials that perform environmentally without sacrificing barrier properties. Recycled PET approval under defined conditions, with polypropylene and polyethylene under review, opens a pathway for circular content in food contact, provided scientific assessment holds. For global brands operating in India, alignment between domestic rules and international expectations simplifies packaging specifications and reduces the risk of market-specific recalls. In effect, packaging in India is being redefined not merely as a container but as a regulated component of the food safety system, with material makers sharing responsibility for what ultimately reaches the consumer.
Enforcement will hinge on testing capacity. Pulling samples from manufacturers as well as food businesses requires accredited laboratories able to measure heavy-metal migration and overall migration limits reliably, and a transparent process for disputing results. Without that infrastructure, even a well-intentioned surveillance programme risks inconsistent outcomes that confuse compliant and non-compliant suppliers alike.
The ripple effects reach importers and global brands. A multinational supplying the Indian market must now treat its local packaging materials as in-scope for food-safety enforcement, not merely the finished food. That elevates the role of packaging specification teams and favours suppliers who can document compliance end to end. For domestic converters, the message is an opportunity, those who invest early in low-migration, recyclable and properly certified materials can win share as less-prepared competitors face seizure or licence action. In a market of this scale, the difference between compliant and non-compliant supply chains will increasingly decide who grows.
