Vegan food is one of the fastest-growing conversations in the Indian food industry. Startups, D2C brands, restaurants, exporters and established food companies are all exploring vegan products. One important point is often missed — vegan is not just a marketing word. It is a regulated claim.
Under FSSAI’s vegan framework, a vegan food product must not contain ingredients, additives, flavourings, enzymes, carriers or processing aids of animal origin. This includes obvious ingredients like milk, egg, meat, fish and honey, but also less obvious materials such as gelatin, cochineal, animal-origin enzymes, animal-origin vitamin D3 and certain processing aids.
FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Vegan Foods) Regulations, 2022, and its official vegan food page states that after approval, the FBO can submit the approval to the Licensing Authority for endorsement of the vegan logo on the product.
Who needs to apply for Vegan logo endorsement?
Not every plant-origin food needs vegan endorsement. FSSAI’s revised FAQs clarify that raw agricultural commodities such as rice, cereals, pulses, oilseeds and dry fruits, as well as minimally processed plant products without added ingredients, generally need not apply.
However, formulated and processed products such as plant-based drinks, vegan bakery products, snacks, sauces, chocolates, ready-to-eat foods and dairy alternatives need careful review before making vegan claims.
What should FBOs do before applying?
FSSAI’s application format requires details such as product name, food category, list of ingredients, source of each ingredient, manufacturing process, and technical specifications and CoA of each ingredient. Food businesses should prepare a complete vegan compliance file. This should include:
- Complete product formulation
- Ingredient source declarations
- Supplier CoAs and specifications
- Declaration on additives and processing aids
- Manufacturing process details
- Cross-contact control plan
- Product label
- Appropriate laboratory test reports
- Self-declaration as per FSSAI format
- Payment receipt and application documents
What tests are required for vegan verification?
Vegan verification requires molecular, immunological and chromatographic techniques because no single test can detect all possible animal-derived ingredients. A good laboratory uses a multi-parameter approach. Envirocare Labs’ vegan verification capability includes:
Animal DNA by Real-Time PCR
To detect mammalian, fish or avian DNA markers
Milk proteins by ELISA
To detect casein, whey proteins and β-lactoglobulin
Egg proteins by ELISA
To detect egg components such as ovalbumin
Cholesterol by Gas Chromatography
To detect animal fat markers
Can vegan and non-vegan products be made on the same line?
Yes, but with strict controls. FSSAI FAQs state that if the same production line is shared with non-vegan products or ingredients, thorough cleaning or comparable GMP measures must be carried out before vegan production starts.
Common mistakes FBOs should avoid
- Do not assume vegetarian means vegan
- Do not ignore minor ingredients, flavours and processing aids
- Do not use meat-linked product names such as vegan chicken, vegan bacon or vegan salami without regulatory risk review; FSSAI FAQs specifically restrict clubbing vegan with meat-based product terms and sensory comparison claims
- Do not submit one application for multiple flavours or variants; FSSAI requires separate applications for each product or variant
- Do not submit confusing CoAs showing non-vegan parameters such as lactose or milk fat; FSSAI FAQs caution that vegan endorsement cannot be given for CoAs depicting such non-vegan parameters
How Envirocare Labs helps
Envirocare Labs supports vegan food businesses with testing, documentation review, claim verification and FSSAI application readiness. Our vegan verification approach includes Real-Time PCR, ELISA and Gas Chromatography-based testing for key animal-origin markers.
- For a food brand, this means stronger compliance.
- For a startup, it means faster readiness.
- For a consumer, it means greater trust.
Vegan is not just a logo. It is a promise.
Envirocare Labs helps you prove that promise.