Last updated: 2 October 2026
Quick Answer: Every business making or selling food in India needs FSSAI registration or a licence, and the FSSAI product list and category PDF together use 21 category codes. Both official lists sit on FSSAI's FoSCoS portal. If your product isn't on the standardised list, it's a proprietary food, nutraceutical or non-specified food, and each needs a Central licence.
Sixteen of those codes come from Appendix A of the 2011 food product standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). FSSAI later added five: Indian sweets and snacks, food additives, unmapped standardised products, hemp seed foods and Ayurveda Aahara.
At a glance: FSSAI product and food category list
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who needs FSSAI | Every food business, from makers to restaurants |
| Official list | FoSCoS standardised products page, plus a category PDF |
| Categories | 21 top-level codes: 01 to 16, then 18, 99, 100, 101 and 102 |
| Not listed? | Proprietary food, nutraceuticals, or non-specified food with FSSAI's prior approval |
| Decides | Products endorsed on your licence and, for some foods, the licence type |
| Apply on | FoSCoS (Food Safety and Compliance System) |
Short on time? To apply for your FSSAI license online with help, use the Jaagruk Bharat box after the FoSCoS steps.
How does FSSAI group foods into categories?
The FSSAI food category list works in three levels: a main category, a sub-category, then the named product. Bread, for example, sits under 07 Bakery wares, then 7.1 Bread and ordinary bakery wares and mixes.
The full FSSAI product category list that FoSCoS uses for licensing:
| Code | Food category | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dairy products and analogues | Milk, cream, milk powder, cheese |
| 02 | Fats and oils, and fat emulsions | Ghee, vegetable oils, butter, fat spreads |
| 03 | Edible ices | Ices, sherbet, sorbet |
| 04 | Fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds | Dried fruit, jams, chutneys, peanut butter |
| 05 | Confectionery | Chocolate, candy, mouth fresheners |
| 06 | Cereals and cereal products | Rice, flours, breakfast cereals, noodles |
| 07 | Bakery wares | Bread, cakes, cookies |
| 08 | Meat and meat products, including poultry | Fresh, processed and frozen meat |
| 09 | Fish and fish products | Fresh, processed and canned fish |
| 10 | Eggs and egg products | Fresh and preserved eggs |
| 11 | Sweeteners, including honey | Sugar, syrups, honey, table-top sweeteners |
| 12 | Salts, spices, soups, sauces, salads and protein products | Salt, masalas, soups, sauces |
| 13 | Foods for particular nutritional uses | Infant formula, dietetic foods |
| 14 | Beverages, excluding dairy | Packaged water, juices, tea, coffee |
| 15 | Ready-to-eat savouries | Potato and cereal snacks, coated nuts |
| 16 | Prepared foods | One broad category |
| 18 | Indian sweets, snacks and savouries | Khoa and chhana sweets, namkeen, ready-to-cook mixes |
| 99 | Substances added to food | Additives, enzymes, flavours |
| 100 | Standardised products outside 01–14 | Pan masala, royal jelly |
| 101 | Hemp seeds and seed products | Hemp seed foods |
| 102 | Ayurveda Aahara | Takra (buttermilk), saktu drinks |
Codes such as 07.1 or 14.1.5 are what people mean by an FSSAI product code list. They're for licensing, not naming: Appendix A of the food product standards regulations says its category descriptors aren't legal product names or labelling terms.
Where do you find the official FSSAI product list?
The official FSSAI product list is FoSCoS's standardised products page, searchable by food category, sub-category and product name. Each row also shows the FSSR (Food Safety and Standards Regulations) number and the date the product was added or changed.
For the category tree alone, download FSSAI's compiled food product categories list. It's a nine-page PDF of codes 01 Dairy to 101 Hemp seed products; the newer 102 Ayurveda Aahara appears only in the products table.
"Standardised" means FSSAI has written a standard for that product. FSSAI's FoSCoS guidance warns that a similar-sounding name doesn't count.
How do you pick the right food category on FoSCoS?
You pick your FSSAI food category inside the FoSCoS application form: choose your kind of business, then drill down from main category to sub-category to product. This step applies to manufacturers, repackers and relabellers of standardised foods.
- Open foscos.fssai.gov.in and start a New License / Registration application.
- Choose your kind of business. Milk product makers must pick Dairy units, not General manufacturing.
- Select the main category, for example 07 Bakery wares.
- Select the sub-category, for example 7.1 Bread and ordinary bakery wares and mixes.
- Tick every standardised product you'll make, for example Bread.
- Can't find your product? Switch to the proprietary, nutraceutical or non-specified route in the next section.
Restaurants and caterers list only the broad food category, not each dish. Adding a product after your licence is issued? That's a Form C licence modification on FoSCoS.
Get it done for you
- We match your product to the right FSSAI food category and sub-category.
- We fill the FoSCoS form and upload your documents.
- We track the application and share your certificate once it's issued.
What if your product is not in any category?
If your product isn't on the standardised list, you apply under proprietary food, nutraceuticals or non-specified food, whichever fits. FoSCoS guidance names these three routes.
| Route | What it covers | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary food | A food with no FSSAI standard, made only from standardised or permitted ingredients | Central licence; label states the category or sub-category, generic name and composition |
| Health supplements and nutraceuticals | Products under FSSAI's 2016 nutraceutical regulations | Central licence |
| Non-specified food | A food or ingredient with no standard that isn't proprietary, such as a new additive | FSSAI's prior approval at its headquarters, then a Central licence |
One trap: a standardised food that misses its quality parameters doesn't become a proprietary food. The FSSAI proprietary food regulation (2.12) says so in plain terms. For the rest of what a pack must carry, see our guide to the FSSAI logo and licence number on food labels.
Which food businesses do not need a separate product approval?
Most food businesses never need one. Only manufacturers and importers of non-specified foods need FSSAI's prior product approval, under the Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations, 2017.
- Makers of standardised products: pick the product on FoSCoS, and your licence covers it.
- Makers of proprietary foods: no prior approval, but every ingredient must be standardised or permitted.
- Restaurants and caterers: register the broad food category you serve.
- Retailers and distributors: you sell foods made under another business's licence.
The FSSAI product approval list is FSSAI's published list of approved non-specified food applications.
Found your category?
To get an FSSAI food license online, register on FoSCoS, choose your kind of business and food category, upload your documents and pay the fee. The application goes to your area's registering or licensing authority, and you track it on the same portal.
Our guide to getting an FSSAI food licence online walks through each screen, the documents and the fees. Prefer to hand over the FSSAI registration online steps? The help box under the FoSCoS steps covers that.
Does the food category change which licence you need?
Yes, for some foods. Proprietary foods, health supplements and nutraceuticals, non-specified foods and Ayurveda Aahara always need a Central licence, whatever the turnover. For other foods, turnover and kind of business decide the tier.
That rule sits in FoSCoS's eligibility table, updated 1 April 2026. So an FSSAI license for food products outside the standardised list means a Central licence. For the turnover slabs, see which FSSAI licence you need: basic, State or Central.
