For the first time since alcohol and alcoholic beverages came under the ambit of Indian food safety law, the apex food regulator is in the process of setting harsher terms for the makers of wine, whisky and beer.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has come up with a draft notification related to additional additives, enzymes and processing aids used in the production of alcoholic beverages, including alcohol-free and low-alcoholic counterparts.

The notification contains a list of 63 additives the alcohol industry can use in the manufacturing of their products. Also defined in the draft notification is the maximum permissible limit for each such additive. The purpose of the exercise is to give a legal backing to the food additives used in a range of alcohols and alcoholic beverages.

FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal today said, “Notifying additives helps both the food safety cause and the interests of manufacturers. There were requests to clarify permitted additives because in the absence of clarification, many of these were being labelled as contaminants. Once we finally notify our additives for alcohols and alcoholic beverages, state food safety officers will know what is permissible.”