The apex food regulator of the country, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has issued FAQs for the organic food sector clarifying on products falling under the category of organic and no separate requirement of licences for organic food products under the FSS Act amongst others.
In the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), the FSSAI has stated that FBOs already registered or licensed under FSS Act are not required to take a separate licence and the existing licence or registration will get endorsed for organic food, if they comply with the organic food regulations prescribed by the FSSAI in 2017.
According to the FSSAI, ‘the endorsement can be done online through Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS).’
While certification of the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)/ Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)-India is a pre-requisite for organic food and is a requirement for taking registration or licence under the FSSR, the organic food marketed through direct sales to the end-consumer by the small original producer or producer organisation is exempted from certification.
And according to the FSSAI, small original producer or producer organisation is the one whose annual turnover is not exceeding Rs 12 lakh per annum.
The FSSAI has also clarified that under the organic food products regulations the permit of the insecticides in organic food is 5% max or level of quantification (LoQ), whichever is higher for various foods specified under the contaminants, toxins, and residues regulations.
Similarly, organic food is also needed to comply with the limits for other contaminants like metals, naturally occurring toxic substances, aflatoxins, and microbiological requirement as prescribed under the regulations for food additives.
The FSSAI has also stated that foods which are ‘In-Conversion’ to organic are not covered under the FSS – Organic Foods Regulations 2017 and they also cannot use the logo of Jaivik Bharat.
Further, with respect to the requirement for imported organic products, the FSSAI says that organic products are not required to be recertified on import to India, if there is a bilateral or multilateral agreement between India and the exporting country based on equivalence of standards as per the NPOP (National Programme for Organic Production).
And all organic food consignments are required to be accompanied by a transaction certificate issued by an accredited certification body.