FSSAI steps up efforts for organic food testing
Food Safety & Standards Authority of India directed its notified laboratories to take the necessary steps to enhance the infrastructure and scope of the testing for organic products
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New Delhi In a bid to make organic products comply with the stipulated standards, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed its notified laboratories “to take the necessary steps to enhance the infrastructure and scope of the testing for organic products.”
The FSSAI has asked the notified labs to make an application to the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for authorization, official sources told Bizz Buzz.
The food safety authority has directed the labs to apply to the National Referral Laboratory of APEDA for the proficiency testing programme and competence assessment in order to qualify for pre-export testing of organic products.
The labs have been also instructed to apply for organic products to compulsorily include this specific category within the FSSAI-NABL integrated scope. The NABL or National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories is an accreditation body. It is one of the constituent boards of the Quality Council of India, an autonomous body under the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The FSSAI had notified Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations in 2017 with the aim to benefit farmers by way of increasing their income. These regulations recognize two systems of certification: the Participatory Guarantee System implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Farmers Welfare & National Programme for Organic Production implemented by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The regulations ensure integrity of organic food products and help in controlling unscrupulous practices in the market. All organic food products should be certified. Organic food that is marketed through direct sales to the end customer by a small original producer or a producer organization is exempted from certification. As per the FSSAI, a small original producer or a producer organization is one whose annual turnover is up to Rs12 lakh.
