Overview
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India finalized an amendment and had it published in the Official Gazette on August 10, 2026, making the new packaging rules effective on publication.
- The rules allow only paper, paperboard, cellulose or other naturally derived materials that are completely free of plastic and they explicitly permit tin and glass containers.
- The amendment bars specific plastics including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and PVC and also forbids aluminium foil and metallised layers inside pan masala packaging.
- FSSAI framed the change as a packaging regulation not a ban on pan masala, and it brings pan masala within parts of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
- Manufacturers and local vendors will need to redesign packs, find compliant suppliers, test and relabel products and may face higher packaging and transport costs as the new formats roll out.