Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has proposed prohibiting the addition of sucrose and fructose in infant nutrition products meant for babies up to six months of age. The draft amendment aims to strengthen nutritional standards and minimize the exposure to added sugars during early infancy.
The proposal, which comes as a part of the Food Safety and Standards Foods for Infant Nutrition Amendment Regulations 2026, is published in the Gazette of India on October 16. The draft states sucrose and fructose should not be added in products intended for infants up to six months of age.
The amendment seeks to strengthen the existing regulation governing the nutritional composition, quality, safety of infant foods.
Under the existing Food Safety and Standards Regulation Act 2020, infant nutrition products must comply with the prescribed nutritional composition and safety standards, but do not have a regulation to maintain the quantity of sucrose and fructose.
Under the current provision, lactose and glucose polymers are identified as carbohydrate sources. Sucrose and fructose may be added when required as carbohydrate sources subject to specified limits. The proposed amendment seeks restriction to this addition for products intended for infants up to six months of age.
The finalized provision would strengthen the rules governing the formulation of these products for the youngest age group.
The first six months of life, which are meant to be the crucial for an infant’s growth and development, make appropriate nutrition particularly important. The proposed amendment aims to minimize the unnecessary exposure to added sugar, which causes inflammation in the body, raising concerns about childhood obesity and health-related risks.
It is worth noting that the proposal aligns with the established public health recommendations that promote exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life.
The draft is being published for public consultation. FSSAI has invited objections and suggestions from stakeholders within 60 days from the date of which the copies of the official Gazette containing the notification were made public. The regulator will thereby consider the representations received within the prescribed period before finalizing the amendment.