Food businesses barred from using recycled plastic, newspaper for packaging

FSSAI says businesses have new regulations will raise standards for safety and have to be followed by July 1.

Food businesses will be banned from using recycled plastics and newspapers for packaging after July 1, industry regulator FSSAI said Thursday.

The new regulations prohibit packaging material made of recycled plastics including carry bags for packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing articles of food.

FSSAI's norms also prohibit the use of newspaper and such other materials for packing or wrapping of food articles and includes respective Indian standard for printing inks for use on food packages.

"The new packaging regulations would raise the bar of food safety in India to the next level," said Pawan Agarwal, CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI),