FSSAI bans mixing of edible oils in mustard oil from 1st October

In a bid to ensure the safety in consumption of mustard oils, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prohibited the amalgamation of other vegetable oils with mustard oil from 1st October 2020.

This new decision was rolled out to ensure the purity of mustard oil. FSSAI took the decision as per the direction of the Central Government. This essential step is believed to eliminate the adulteration in mustard oil, especially for domestic consumption.

According to the FSSAI order, “No manufacturing of blended edible vegetable oil with mustard oil as an ingredient will be allowed with effect from October 1, 2020,” FSSAI stated in its order. “The Government of India, after due deliberation has directed Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to prohibit blending in mustard oil and to facilitate manufacture and sale of pure mustard oil for domestic consumption in public interest.”

Since, the completion of regulations and guidelines will take time, the FSSAI has decided to operationalise the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Amendment Regulations, 2020 from 1st of October 2020.

As per the FSSAI guidelines, there will be a change in the composition of mustard oil used for domestic purposes. As the standards of blended oils, the guidelines permit the “admixture of any two oils, wherein the proportion of weight of any edible vegetable oil used in the admixture is not less than 20 per cent”. However, as per the new guidelines, FSSAI will forbid the sales of certain admixtures that fall under “any blended edible oil containing mustard oil.”

As per a leading daily, FSSAI conducted a pan Indian surveillance to crack down the sales of adulterated mustard oil. This probe was conducted to ensure the sale of pure mustard oils.

Apart from that, FSSAI suggested the food commissioners to further test the presence of oryzanol content in mustard oil, which is usually conducted in vegetable oil refineries and other edible oil production units with strict rules.

This will help in eliminating the use of rice bran oil in packaged mustard oil, which has a high amount of oryzanol and is used as a common adulterant in blended mustard oils.