Lok Sabha Question No. 3252 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-13
Subject: Fake Organic Farm Products
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Sudheer Gupta, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Shrirang Appa Barne

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

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3252 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13 TH MARCH, 2020

## FAKE ORGANIC FARM PR ODUCTS

## 3252. SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI SANJAY SADASHIV RAO MANDLIK:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

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

- (a) whether the Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has take n note of fake organic farm products being sold in the name of genuine organic agro products;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  and  the  reasons  for  the  same  along  with  the  action  taken  ag offenders;
- (c)  whether the  FSSAI  has  adequate  infrastructure  in  terms  of  number  of  certifying  labs testing of organic products in the country;
- (d)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the  corrective  measures  taken/being  take Government in this regard; and
- (e)the details of concrete steps taken/being taken by the FSSAI in co - operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and the 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): There  have  been  media  reports  about  availability  of  fake  organic  products  in market. To address such concerns, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Organic  Foods)  Regulations,  2017.  These  regulati provide that no person shall manufacture, pack, sell, offer for sale, market or otherwise or import any organic food unless they comply with the requirement s la d 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) adopte d by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- Any other system or standards as may be notified by the Food Authority from time to ti

All the food business operators involved in the business of organic food have to c with the provisions of th e said regulations.

However,  organic  food  which  is  marketed  through  direct  sales  by  the  small  orig producer  or  a  producers'  organisation  to  the  end  consumer  shall  be  exempt  from  the  above requirement.

As per regulation 5 of the said Regulations, la belling on package of organic food shall convey  full  and  accurate  information  on  the  organic  status  of  the  product.  The  organi covered  though  these  regulations  should  bear  FSSAI  organic  logo  i.e. Jaivik  Bharat logo,  a unified  logo,  which  represents  b oth  the  systems  of  certification  i.e.  National  Programme  fo Organic Production (NPOP) and PGS -India. This logo is an identity mark to distinguish organi products from non -organic  one.  This  logo  is  supported  with  the  tagline  'Jaivik  Bharat'  at  the bottomwhich signifies Organic food from India.

All organic foods shall comply with the packaging and labelling requirements speci under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 in additi the labelling requirements unde r one of the applicable systems mentioned in regulation 4 of th said Regulations. As per regulation 8 of the said Regulations, the seller of organic fo exclusively  or  as  part  of  his  retail  merchandise  shall  display  such  food  in  a distingui shable from the display of non - organic food.

Further,  Jaivik  Bharat  portal  on  organic  food  from  India,  which  is  available  at -https://jaivikbharat.fssai.gov.in/,  is    jointly  developed  by  FSSAI,  Agricultural  and Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and PGS -India containing information on    Organic  food  standards,  certification  process,  information  relating  to  Food  Bu Operators (FBOs), their organic products and geographical area in which these are avai Organic food produ cts 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 producer, the certification system and the availability of certified organic products. T , there are adequate provisions to ensure that genuine organic products is easily identified and a

(c)& (d): Under the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Food) Regulations 2017, all organi 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 fo shall also comply with relevant provisions, as applicable under the Food Safety and Sta (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues ) Regulations, 2011 except for residues of insecticides fo which  the  maximum  limits  shall  be  5%  of  the  maximum  limits  prescribed  or  Level  o Quantification (LoQ) whichever is higher.

There  are  246  primary  food  testing  laboratories  in  the  country  (187  rec ognised  and notified  by  FSSAI  and  59  State  Food  Testing  Laboratories).  Out  of  these,  there  ar 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 being done by the State Food Safety Officers and sent to the laboratories for analysis an 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 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

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