The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Act No. 34 of 2006) received the assent of the President of India on 23rd August 2006 and thereafter published in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) Part I, Section 1 dated 24th August, 2006. Various provisions of the Act came with force on various dates through several notifications in this regard viz. notifications dated 15.10.2007, 28.05.2008, 18.11.2008, 09.03.2009, 31.07.2009, 29.07.2010 and 18.08.2010.  

Vide Cabinet Secretariat’s notification under Govt. of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 dated 17.09.2007, the subject “Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006” was shifted to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare vide ‘The Food Safety and Standards (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2007 dated 15th October, 2007 in Sub-Section(I), in clause (c) of Section 6 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 for the word ‘Health’, the words “Food Processing Industries ‘were substituted.