Question : Control over Fake Organic Products

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken note of fake organic farm products being sold in the name of genuine organic agroproducts;

(b) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto and the action taken to curb such malpractices;

(c) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the Government of Kerala is considering to frame law to check and keep a tab on such illegal activities and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the details of concrete steps taken/ being taken by the Food Safety Standard Authority of India in co-operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and State Governments to prevent such incidents in future, State/UT-wise?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017 on 29.12.2017. These regulations recognize two certification systems i.e. National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) notified by Ministry of Commerce and Industry or Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS India) adopted by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. However, organic food which is marketed through direct sales by the small original producer or producers’ organization to the end consumer shall be exempt from the above requirement.

As per sub-regulation 5 of Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017, labeling on the package of organic food shall convey full and accurate information on the organic status of the product. The Organic food covered through these regulations should bear FSSAI organic logo i.e. Jaivik Bharat Logo which is unified logo which represents both the systems of certification i.e. NPOP and PGS-India. This logo is an identity mark to distinguish organic products from non-organic ones. The 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 in addition to the labelling requirements of NPOP or PGS India as applicable. As per sub-regulation 8 of 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. All the Food Business Operators (FBOs) dealing with organic food have to comply with the provisions of the said Regulations.





Further, Jaivik Bharat portal on organic food from India is a regulatory portal. At the heart of the portal is an Indian Organic Integrity database jointly developed by FSSAI, APEDA, and PGS-India on Organic food standards, certification processes, information relating to FBOs, their products and geographical areas 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. The portal can be accessed using the URL - https://jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in/. Thus there are adequate provisions to ensure that genuine organic product is easily identified and accessed.

(c): No such information is available.

(d): 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 Officer. In cases of non-compliance to the to the provisions of FSS Act, Rules and Regulations made thereunder, action is initiated against the defaulting food business operator under the penal provisions of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.