While theIndiaprobiotic drinks market is driven by increasing affluence, greater emphasis on preventive healthcare, changing demographics, and the emergence of wellness related retail chains, the key challenges include lack of standardization, product stability at room temperatures and the need for validating product claims.

 Regulatory Framework

 InIndia, probiotics are currently regulated by a set of food laws that aim to regulate general food items including:

• The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1952 (“PFA Act”) and corresponding Rules of 1955 (“PFA Rules”),
• Certain food product specific orders under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and
• The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and corresponding Rules of 1977

 There are multiple authorities that oversee probiotics, and these include the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Food Processing Industry, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

 With the objective of creating a single regulatory authority, the Government of India enacted the Food Safety and Standards Act of India, 2006. Under the provisions of this act, an apex regulatory authority, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been created for regulating food related issues inIndia.

 In 2011, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) constituted a Task Force comprising leading experts from varied fields to develop detailed guidelines for evaluation of probiotics in food in India. The Task Force came up with a set of guidelines taking into consideration the guidelines available in different parts of the world and on the various related issues[1].

Market Landscape