The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), working in lockstep with the Ministry of Ayush, has officially published a list of Ayurveda Aahara products, ending decades of grey zones and guesswork in the regulation of traditional Indian food preparations.
FSSAI And Ministry Of Ayush Launch ‘Ayurveda Aahara’ Products List
According to the Press Information Bureau, the move is rooted in the Food Safety and Standards (Ayurveda Aahara) Regulations, 2022, and the list is a direct product of Note (1) of Schedule B. It draws exclusively from classical Ayurvedic texts listed in Schedule A. These are codified, time-hardened formulations with precise methods, ingredients, and therapeutic intent. Every product on this list has a literary lineage backed by Sanskrit.
Oversight and compilation were led by the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), deemed to be University, under the aegis of the Ministry of Ayush. It was a painstaking, line-by-line extraction and cross-verification project. According to Prof. Sanjeev Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of NIA, the compendium that emerged from the project is a working reference tool, which is both academically rigorous and practically usable for food manufacturers today.
Why The List Is Significant?
Food Business Operators now have clear legal guidance on what qualifies as Ayurveda Aahara, and they’re making sure the public knows it too. If a product is not on the list currently, FBOs can apply to get new products added, so long as they can anchor them in Schedule A texts.
Union Minister Shri Prataprao Jadhav, who holds both the Ministry of Ayush and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, iterated the policy direction as a response to the health-hazardous times we live in. Pointing to its relevance for digestion, immunity, and preventive healthcare, he made this statement. The Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, thinks that the list is a pivotal step in traditional diet appraisal.
For decades, Ayurvedic food has existed in a kind of legal vacuum: it was widely consumed but rarely regulated. Back in November 2023, at the inauguration of World Food India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India’s food legacy with characteristic clarity. He mentioned how our ancestors have linked Ayurveda with the food style of the common population.
Ayurveda Aahaara is food prepared in line with Ayurvedic dietary theory, balanced by dosha, aligned with seasons and guided by herbs with known therapeutic profiles. It’s increasingly being recognised, not just in India but globally, as the kind of food system that makes modern concerns meet with ancient precision, as stated by the Press Information Bureau.
Also Read: Not Breakfast, You Must Eat Lunch Like A King According To Ayurveda; Here’s Why
You can read the full list on the FSSAI portal here. For the first time, food rooted in 5,000 years of philosophy has a document number, and we must remember and inculcate it in our lives.
Cover Image Courtesy: ninetechno/CanvaPro (Representative Image)
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