Milk, milk products must not contain protein binders, emulsifiers, other additives: Food safety regulator

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)—the country’s food safety regulator—has said that there is no need to add ingredients such as protein binders and emulsifiers in milk and milk products. The communication from the food safety watchdog comes days before the onset of the festive season in the country. 

Nearly all dairy products have inherent qualities that make the addition of ingredients like protein binders to modify the texture or to change sensory parameters completely unnecessary, according to FSSAI. 

Although binding agents have emerged as a common ingredient in the manufacturing of a host of food products, they are known to affect the organic and nutritional value of milk proteins, and also the bioavailability and distribution of active compounds, the regulator added.

The regulator has specified the following milk and milk products under the food safety laws: 

• Milk and dairy-based drinks
  • Milk and buttermilk (plain)
    • Milk (plain)
    • Buttermilk (plain)
  • Dairy-based drinks, flavoured and/or fermented 
• Fermented and renneted milk products (plain), excluding food category (dairy-based drinks)
  • Fermented milks (plain)
    • Fermented milks (plain), not heat-treated after fermentation
    • Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation
  • Renneted milk (plain)
• Condensed milk and analogues (plain)
  • Condensed milk (plain)
  • Beverage whiteners
  • Non-dairy-based beverage whitener
• Cream (plain) and the likes
  • Pasteurized cream (plain)
  • Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams(plain)
  • Clotted cream (plain)
  • Cream analogues
• Milk powder and cream powder and powder analogues (plain)
  • Milk powder and cream powder (plain)
    • Dairy based dairy whitener
  • Milk and cream powder analogues
• Cheese and analogues
  • Unripened cheese
  • Ripened cheese
    • Ripened cheese, includes rind
    • Rind of ripened cheese
    • Cheese powder
  • Whey cheese
  • Processed cheese
    • Plain processed cheese
    • Flavoured processed cheese, including containing fruit, vegetables, meat etc.
  • Cheese analogues
  • Whey protein cheese
• Dairy-based desserts
• Whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses
  • Liquid whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses
  • Dried whey and whey products, excluding whey cheeses

The festive season typically sees a rise in the consumption of food products in the country, especially items such as milk-based products and sweets. 

Earlier, FSSAI directed businesses dealing in food products to ensure that their products are of high quality and warned them of strict action in case of failure to comply with food safety norms.