Lok Sabha Question No. 4733 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: Food Packaging and Recycling Infrastructure
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Kamakhya Prasad Tasa

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRY OFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4733 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 th MARCH, 2026

## FOOD PACKAGING AND RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE

## 4733. SHRI KAMAKHYA PRASAD TASA:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) the details of any incentives, schemes or support provided by the Government to smallscale Food Business Operators (FBOs) to facilitate their transition to sustainable and compliant food packaging materials and if so, the details thereof;

- (b) the current certification or verification framework in place for validating recycled content in food-contact packaging materials, particularly PET, PE and PP and the manner in which India's standards align with international benchmarks and best practices;
- (c) the details of the Government's position from the perspective of food safety and regulatory

oversight on the adoption of mechanical and chemical recycling technologies by the food and beverage industry for packaging materials; and

- (d) the details of the Government's vision and policy roadmap for enabling the industrialscale adoption of advanced polymer recycling technologies in the country?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (d): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated to lay down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. The implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 is a shared responsibility between the Central and State Governments.

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has informed that it is implementing Research and Development Scheme, which is a part of Human Resource & Institutions Scheme under the umbrella scheme i.e. Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY). Under the scheme, financial assistance as Grant-in-aid is given to various Universities, Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs), Central/ State Government Institutions, Government funded organizations, Research and Development (R&D) laboratories and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) recognized R&D units in private sector to promote and undertake demand driven R&D work in the field of processed food sector for product & process development, design and development of equipment, improved storage, shelf-life, packaging etc.

FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018, wherein, requirements for food-grade packaging are specified. These regulations mandate that any material which comes in direct contact with food or likely to come in contact with food used for packaging, preparation, storing, wrapping, transportation and sale or service of food shall be of food grade quality.

Furthermore, FSSAI has issued guidelines for recycling of post-consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate ( PET) for food contact applications, which provide a regulatory framework for the use of recycled PET in food packaging, subject to strict safety requirements. These guidelines prescribe conditions such as the use of food-grade recycling technologies, compliance with migration limits, traceability of input materials and approval of recycling processes to ensure consumer safety.

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