Delhi High Court Quashes FSSAI Regulation on Animal Feed and BIS Certification

The Delhi High Court has set aside several orders and regulations issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) concerning animal feed. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia ruled on April 7, 2026, that the FSSAI lacks the authority to regulate food meant for animals. The court clarified that the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 is exclusively designed to handle food intended for human consumption.

Why did the court strike down the animal feed rules?

The court explained that the FSSAI cannot prescribe standards for animal consumption as its mandate is limited to human food safety. The ruling specifically quashed Note (c) of Regulation 2.5.2, which had banned the use of meat or bone meal in feed for milk and meat-producing animals. The judges stated that any regulation on cattle or animal feed by the FSSAI would travel beyond the legal scope of the 2006 Act. This decision follows a petition by Godrej Agrovet Ltd. challenging these specific restrictions.

Key highlights of the High Court ruling

The court also addressed the mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for commercial animal feed. It noted that making BIS standards mandatory is a function of the Central Government under the BIS Act of 2016. Since there was no such direction from the Central Government, the FSSAI was not competent to make these standards compulsory. The decision provides clarity on the jurisdictional limits between different regulatory bodies in India.