The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified new regulations requiring all approved vegan food products sold in the country to carry a standardized green logo, with the requirement taking effect on July 1, 2027.
Published in the Gazette of India, the Food Safety and Standards (Vegan Foods) Amendment Regulations, 2026, amend the existing Vegan Foods Regulations of 2022. The key change is the introduction of a mandatory visual identifier for the category: a green square-framed symbol featuring a stylized “V” with a sprouting leaf, with the word “VEGAN” displayed below. The logo’s design, dimensions, and color values are precisely specified in the notification, leaving no room for variation across manufacturers.
Exact technical specifications accompany the regulations, including arm thickness, symbol height, and CMYK color values for the green used, with food business operators required to obtain FSSAI approval before displaying the logo on packaging.
A category with no uniform mark, until now
India’s vegan food sector has grown in line with rising consumer interest in plant-based diets, driven by health, environmental, and animal welfare considerations. However, the absence of a government-recognized visual identifier has placed the burden of verification on consumers, who must scrutinize ingredient lists to confirm the absence of animal-derived components.
AIIMS Delhi dietician Monita Gahlot described the introduction as important because it “provides consumers with a clear, government-recognised identification mark for vegan foods and establishes a transparent framework to prevent misleading claims.”
Compliance timeline and a parallel reform
Food business operators now face a packaging redesign deadline and an approval process to clear before the mid-2027 effective date. The regulation also coincides with a separate FSSAI reform: a parallel amendment has removed previous restrictions on the use of sal-seed fat, an edible vegetable fat derived from the sal tree, beyond bakery and confectionery products. The change is expected to expand ingredient options for manufacturers in the plant-based food space.
