The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has specified a comprehensive group standard for millets under Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2023. Union Health Ministry in a statement said that it will be enforced from 1st of September this year. Currently, individual standards for only a few millets like sorghum (jowar), whole and decorticated pearl millet grain (bajra), finger millet (ragi) and amaranth are prescribed. The Authority has now framed a comprehensive group standard for 15 types of millets specifying eight quality parameters to ensure availability of good quality millets in domestic and global markets. The group standard is applicable to the millets including Buckwheat (Kuttu), Kodo Millet (Kodo), Little Millet (Kutki), Brown top (Korale) and Job’s tears (Adlay).
Millets are group of small-grained cereal food crops that are highly tolerant to drought and other extreme weather conditions and requires low chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. Most of the millet crops are native of India and t provide most of the nutrients required for normal functioning of human body.
In order to enhance awareness and promote production and consumption of millets, in April 2018, millets were rebranded as Nutri Cereals and the year 2018 was designated as the National Year of Millets. Later, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.