🇮🇳 Foods banned or restricted in India but legal in the US

Overview

India's Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) regulates food additives under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. India has banned potassium bromate in flour since 2016, prohibited artificial trans fats above 2% from 2021, and restricts several synthetic dyes. Despite being a developing market, India's food regulations in these areas exceed US standards.

Key differences vs. the United States

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned potassium bromate as a food additive on June 20, 2016 (Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2016 — CSE report finding cited); it remains legal as a flour treatment agent in the US. FSSAI also banned cyclamates in the same 2016 notification. Under the FSSAI Tenth Amendment Regulations 2020, industrial trans fatty acids in all food products with edible oils/fats have been capped at not more than 2% by mass since January 1, 2022 — a national mandate that goes beyond US federal action following the FDA's 2015 PHO revocation. Ractopamine is not registered for veterinary use in Indian livestock.