ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b): There have been media reports about availability of fake organic products in the market. To address such concerns, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017. These regulations provide that no person shall manufacture, pack, sell, offer for sale, market or otherwise distribute or import any organic food unless they comply with the requirements laid down under these regulations. These regulations recognise following certification systems :
• National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) notified by Ministry of Commerce & Industry;
• Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India) adopted by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• Any other system or standards as may be notified by the Food Authority from time to time.
All the food business operators involved in the business of organic food have to comply with the provisions of the said regulations.
However, organic food which is marketed through direct sales by the small original producer or a producers’ organisation to the end consumer shall be exempt from the above requirement.
As per regulation 5 of the said Regulations, labelling on package of organic food shall convey full and accurate information on the organic status of the product. The organic food covered though these regulations should bear FSSAI organic logo i.e. Jaivik Bharat logo, a unified logo, which represents both the systems of certification i.e. National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and PGS-India. This logo is an identity mark to distinguish organic products from non-organic one. This logo is supported with the tagline ‘Jaivik Bharat’ at the bottom which signifies Organic food from India.
All organic foods shall comply with the packaging and labelling requirements specified under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 in addition to the labelling requirements under one of the applicable systems mentioned in regulation 4 of the said Regulations. As per regulation 8 of the said Regulations, the seller of organic food either exclusively or as part of his retail merchandise shall display such food in a manner distinguishable from the display of non-organic food.
Further, Jaivik Bharat portal on organic food from India, which is available at URL-https://jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in/, is jointly developed by FSSAI, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and PGS-India containing information on Organic food standards, certification process, information relating to Food Business Operators (FBOs), their organic products and geographical area in which these are available. Organic food products may be searched by name of the food or/and by the name of the company as well. Through this portal, the consumers can access all information with respect to the producer, the certification system and the availability of certified organic products. Thus, there are adequate provisions to ensure that genuine organic products is easily identified and accessed.
(c) & (d): Under the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Food) Regulations 2017, all organic food shall comply with the relevant provisions, as applicable, under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. The organic food shall also comply with relevant provisions, as applicable under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011 except for residues of insecticides for which the maximum limits shall be 5% of the maximum limits prescribed or Level of Quantification (LoQ) whichever is higher.
There are 246 primary food testing laboratories in the country (187 recognised and notified by FSSAI and 59 State Food Testing Laboratories). Out of these, there are 88 laboratories in the country for testing of pesticide residues in food products.
(e): The implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 rests with State/UT Governments.
Regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food items are being done by the State Food Safety Officers and sent to the laboratories for analysis and testing. In cases of non-compliance to the provisions of the FSS Act and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder, action is initiated against the defaulting food business operator under the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
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