Starting a Food Business? Key to know!

In the rush to launch, many food entrepreneurs miss out on one critical pillar: compliance.

As someone who works with startups, D2C brands, exporters, and cloud kitchens daily, I’ve seen these FSSAI compliance mistakes happen far too often.

Here are 5 common (and costly) FSSAI compliance mistakes — and how to avoid them:

1. Applying for the Wrong Type of License
Many new businesses apply for Basic Registration (meant for turnover < Rs. 12 lakhs), even when they’re scaling or operating multiple kitchens, warehouses, or selling online.
Solution:
Determine your business model, turnover, and risk category. You may need a State or Central License depending on operations, even from day one.

2. Skipping Mandatory Labelling Elements
Founders often design beautiful packaging — but forget key FSSAI labelling requirements:
Incorrect font sizes, Missing ingredient list, Absence of FSSAI logo and license number, No expiry date or batch number, No allergen declarations
Solution:
Label compliance isn’t optional. It’s one of the first things food inspectors, retailers, and aggregators check.

3. Selling Without Product Testing
You’re at risk if your product hasn’t been tested at a NABL-accredited lab!
Solution:
Get shelf-life, microbial, and nutritional testing done. This is your legal AND marketing backbone.

4. Assigning Shelf Life Without Justification
Many brands blindly assign 6 or 12 months of shelf life to products without real testing. This can lead to 24*7 customer complaints and then you know Court rounds!
Solution:
Scientific shelf life validation is required — especially for high-risk foods or exports.

5. One License Covers Everything? Not Quite.
Some assume one license covers them across India.
Solution:
Each Entity and location may require a separate license.

Compliance = Trust = Growth.

If you need help, we’ve built Myfoodexpert just for you — combining food tech, regulatory knowledge, and business insight.