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Recent years have witnessed sharp growth in the pet food market of India hence there was a demand for regulatory frameworks to maintain quality, safety and nutritional equilibrium required by any product classified under pet food waters. And the clarity in actions for manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of pet food products is visible with one such Standards - IS 11968:2019. This standard is for the animal food product development, manufacturing, packing and labelling its quality to safety confirmed that pets are sufficiently provided with safe and high quality of pet products. [1]

Who Must Comply with IS 11968:2019 Pet Food Regulation & Why It Matters

Regulation, Latest   Aug 07, 2025

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Recent years have witnessed sharp growth in the pet food market of India hence there was a demand for regulatory frameworks to maintain quality, safety and nutritional equilibrium required by any product classified under pet food waters. And the clarity in actions for manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of pet food products is visible with one such Standards – IS 11968:2019. This standard is for the animal food product development, manufacturing, packing and labelling its quality to safety confirmed that pets are sufficiently provided with safe and high quality of pet products. [1]

IS 11968:2019 Pet Food Regulation Summary

IS 11968:2019 is one of the mandatory norms recognized by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) governing pet food products. It sets out in detail the criteria that apply to different types of pet food, such as dry and wet foods or semi-moist chews The classification of these products by form and function will serve to provide guidelines for standards in quality control, proper labelling, safety for pets among other specifications.

 

It will help India conform its pet food market to global standards and provide clear direction for manufacturers that products are safe, wholesome, and labelled accordingly. In the end this helps consumers to make smart choices for what they’re feeding their pets. [2]

IS 11968:2019 Compliance Who

  1. Pet Food Manufacturers

IS 11968:2019 compliance for pet food manufacturers is about to take centre stage. Under this rule, pet food products must be manufactured under strict conditions with a focus on ingredient quality and compliance to nutritional standards as well as manufacturing practices. These are some of the responsibilities that fall on manufacturers, to:

  • Pet food ingredients used in this product are all safe and meet established standards.
  • This is compliant with nutritional program guidelines.
  • Product packed and labelled strictly adhering to BIS requirement

As mentioned earlier, one of these is compliance which can help in making sure that manufacturers do not have product recalls and get to build trust within the market as well as quality control. It also guarantees that products are safe and healthy for pets. [1]

  1. Pet Food Suppliers and Distributors

Pet food suppliers and distributors must also ensure that the products they deal with meet the requirements identified in IS 11968:2019. This standard addresses the storage, transport and sale of pet food and establishes requirements around:

  • Storage of products under correct temperature and conditions to ensure quality.
  • Clear labels with food and safety information.
  • Suppliers selling fifth products not compliant with IS 11968:2019.

For suppliers and distributors, compliance provides a buffer against distributing products that are unsafe or substandard and serves to protect their reputation and that of pet-related processes.

  1. Pet Food Retailers

Retailers need to ensure that the pet food they are stocking is from compliant suppliers/manufacturers. The regulation states that if the pet food is being sold from a retail premises it should have been:

  • Labelled correctly with nutritional information, ingredients information, and feeding guidelines.
  • Clearly stated health claims that are proven scientifically.
  • Safe about preservatives and additives.

When retailers have compliant products, they build consumer’s trust and continue to support a high standard in the food for pets’ industry.

Sample image :

Brand : Hill’s Science Diet Adult Chicken Recipe Dry Dog Food

Product image :

Why IS 11968:2019 Matters for Pet Food Manufacturers

  1. Product Safety & Quality Assurance

The primary relation to comply with IS 11968:2019 is to protect the safety and quality of pet food products. When the protocols are implemented and complied with, manufacturers will know they are placing the products into the marketplace and assuring that they are meeting at least minimal safety efficacy levels and providing complete nutrition for pets. This is essential to protecting pets in case any poor-quality food is provided or possible inappropriate food formulations are feeding their health. 

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  1. Consumer Trust

Pet owners are increasing conscious of what they are feeding their pets, and they expect brands they trust to deliver quality pet food products; if a brand is compliant to IS 11968:2019, this signals to pet owners that their brand is committed to producing a quality safe product, and nutritionally food for their pets. Transparency leads to consumer trust and ultimately leads to more loyalty and repeat business. [3]

  1. Regulatory Compliance & Penalties

There can be repercussions of failing to comply to IS 11968:2019 (e.g. fines, recalls of products, revoking or suspending a business license), but from compliance to IS 11968:2019 will not only ensure that does not happen, but will also make drastic improvements for your business efforts with intent of minimal interruptions of regulatory compliance.

Importance of Compliance for Pet Food Suppliers

  1. Improving Consumer Safety

Suppliers have an important role in giving assurance that the products they provide are safe in accordance with IS 11968:2019. To be from spoilage, poisoning, or deterioration, pet food must be transported and handled properly. When consumers buy pet food products that are certified compliant, they can have confidence that the product is less likely to cause disease in pets or is not a potential source of nutritional imbalance.

  1. Maintaining Product Quality

IS 11968:2019 provides assurance from suppliers that the pet food products they handle retain their safety, nutritional value and quality while being transported or stored before reaching the consumer. Using best practices required for compliance allows suppliers to maintain the quality of pet food and that pets will receive food that contains no harmful substances, allowing pets to have the best nutrition possible.

IS 11968:2019 Is Important to Consumers and Their Pets

IS 11968:2019 has many benefits for consumers:   [4]

Nutritional Transparency: Consumer can believe that the pet food products they are purchasing are produced based on the regulations and can legitimately say their pet food products are balanced and safe.

Safety Assurance: The regulations will ensure that additives and preservatives in the formula are admissible that they are safe for use for pets, lessening the chance of negative health issues to the consumer’s pet.

Correct Labelling: Labels are standardized by the regulations allowing consumers to make informed decisions of what to feed their pet product by displaying ingredients, health claims, and feeding guidelines unambiguously.

Consequences of Non-Compliance with IS 11968:2019

Consequences for not following the IS 11968:2019 Regulation can be serious including:

Product Recalls: Products that are not compliant could be removed from the market and cause large financial losses and reputational damage.

Legal Penalties: Manufacturers and distributors may face legal action and/or fines and sanctions from regulators like FSSAI.

Loss of Market Trust: Non-compliance means trust from customers is lost and will be very difficult, if not impossible, to recover. Also, non-compliance will heavily impact how consumers feel about a brand. [5]

The FSSAI’s Role in Implementing Pet Food Regulations The responsibility of enforcing IS11968: 2019 lies primarily with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The FSSAI is the national authority to regulate food safety issues in India, and to ensure that pet food manufacturers comply with their regulations. The FSSAI has the responsibility to monitor compliance, conduct inspections, conduct audits, and enforce compliance for all pet food across the entire supply chain to ensure safety, nutrition, and labeling compliance to assist with food safety in India.

The FSSAI’s Role in Implementing Pet Food Regulations

 The responsibility of enforcing IS11968: 2019 lies primarily with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The FSSAI is the national authority to regulate food safety issues in India, and to ensure that pet food manufacturers comply with their regulations. The FSSAI has the responsibility to monitor compliance, conduct inspections, conduct audits, and enforce compliance for all pet food across the entire supply chain to ensure safety, nutrition, and labelling compliance to assist with food safety in India.

Conclusion

For all members of the pet food movement industry in India, compliance with IS11968:2019 is extremely important. For those working in the pet food industry, the members are the manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and retailers. Compliance with IS11968:2019 is the responsibility of all parties to ensure pets receive safe, nutritious and properly labelled food to maintain their wellbeing and health, and also provides legal protection, consumer confidence, and credibility to the market for pet food companies.

The industry can provide safer and healthier pet food products if it works within the guidelines from IS 11968:2019. This will benefit the industry and the consumer over time in a sustainable manner. Pet food R&D & product formulation services provide manufacturers and suppliers with invaluable expertise to address the ever-growing requirements for quality and safety pet food products in the market place.

Food Research Lab is your partner for professional pet food development R&D, and product formulation services. We support pet food brands in developing safe and nutritious products that are compliant with IS 11968:2019, and FSSAI.

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