Lok Sabha Question No. 1920 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-29
Subject: Control over Fake Organic Products
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Rameshbhai Lavjibhai Dhaduk

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1920 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 TH NOVEMBER, 2019

## CONTROL OVER FAKE OR GANIC PRODUCTS

## 1920. SHRI RAMESHBHAI LAVJIBHAI DHADUK:

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 HEA LTH 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 regulati recognize two certification systems i.e. National Programme for Organic Production (NP notifie d by Ministry of Commerce and Industry or Participatory Guarantee System for Ind (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  prod ' 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 informatio n on the organic status of the product. The Organic food covered through these regulations s 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 requir ements specified under the Food safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations in addition to the label requirements  of  NPOP  or  PGS  India  as  applicable.  As  per  sub -regulation  8  of  said regulations, the seller of organic food either exclusiv ely 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  t provisions of the said Regulations.

Further, Jaivik Bharat portal on organic food from India is a regulatory portal. heart  of  the  portal  is  an  Indian  Organic  Integrity  database  jointly  developed  by APEDA,  and  PGS - India  on  Organic  food  standards,  certification  processes, information relating to FBOs, their products and geographical areas in which these are available. food products may be searched by name of the food or/and by the name of the company well.  Through  this  Portal,  the  consumers  can  access  all  inform ation  with  respect  to  the producer,  the  certification  system  and  the  availability  of  certified  organic  produ portal  can  be  accessed  using  the  URL - https://jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in/ .  Thus  there  ar e adequate provisions to ensure that genuine organic product is easily identified and acc

- (c): No such information is available.

(d): The implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 rest with  State/UT  Governments.  Regular  surveillance,  monitoring,  inspection  and  rando sampling of food items are being done by the State Food Safety Officer. In cases of -comp liance to the to the provisions of  FSS Act, Rules and Regulations made thereu action is initiated against the defaulting food business operator under the penal prov Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.