Any business in India that manufactures, imports, stores, distributes or sells food or food ingredients — including many food-grade industrial chemicals used as processing aids or additives — generally needs registration or licensing under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Here's what that means practically for a buyer.
Why This Applies to Chemical Suppliers, Not Just Food Companies
A food-grade chemical — citric acid, food-grade calcium chloride, or E223-grade sodium metabisulphite, for example — sits in the food supply chain the moment it's sold for a food application, which is why FSSAI licensing status for the supplier is worth checking, not just an assumption that the product's chemical formula makes it automatically compliant.
What to Ask Your Supplier For
- Confirmation of their FSSAI license/registration number for the relevant category.
- A Certificate of Analysis specific to the food-grade batch you're buying, not the industrial-grade equivalent.
- Any additive-specific documentation your own downstream customer or regulator requires (e.g., E-number references for preservatives).
Don't Assume Grade From the Chemical Name Alone
As covered in our guide on food vs industrial grade SMBS and calcium chloride grades, the same chemical name can exist in both food and industrial grades with real differences in impurity control — always specify and confirm food grade explicitly when ordering for a food application, and keep the batch-specific documentation on file.