Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has prescribed any guidelines for standardization, certification and testing of organic food products being sold in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure that the organic food products available in the country is safe and genuine?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) to (c): Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017 have been notified in the Gazette of India on 29.12.2017. As per the said Regulations, the organic food offered or promoted for sale shall also comply with all the applicable provisions of one of the following certification systems, namely:
(i) National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP);
(ii) Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India).
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.
Organic food is also required to comply with requirements of labelling of FSSAI in addition to that of NPOP or PGS. However, provision of direct sales of organic food to the end consumer by the small original producer/producer organisation having annual turnover of organic produce of not more than Rs. 12 lakh is permitted without any certification i.e. NPOP/PGS India. Similarly, aggregator/intermediary having a turnover of organic produce not exceeding Rs. 50 lakhs/annum is also allowed to sell products without any certification.