India, Aug. 11 -- India's food safety regulator, FSSAI, has updated its packaging rules to ban plastic and foil packaging for pan masala. Under the new Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Amendment Regulations, 2026, manufacturers can no longer use plastic-based materials, plastic laminates, aluminum foil, or metallised layers to pack pan masala.

Moving forward, pan masala can only be sold in eco-friendly packaging or traditional rigid containers.

The new rules have been notified as the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Amendment Regulations, 2026 and will come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, according to a press release.

Under the amended regulations, pan masala can be packed using paper, p...