What is the difference between FSSAI AND AGMARK?

Agmark’s certificate is different from FSSAI. In FSSAI, it is obligatory to sell a food product with a secured license issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. While Agmark is an agricultural product standard stamp.     

Overview

Every product all over varied industries is proficient as per quality standards. When the industry sees food products, there are acts to comply i.e., Food Safety and Standards Act. These guarantees that we eat valuable products that are free from contamination. The modern standards who contract with food products are FSSAI and AGMARK. Get to know the differences between these standards from here.

Primarily, each product manufactured and distributed within India was overseen by a distinct act which was designed and planned for that specific product. The fluctuating environment in India's head to numerous variations in food safety laws and interpreting them into every act took a lot of time, resources, and effort.

That is why they brought the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 which brought all previous acts under one roof that dealt with food products. This association made it a lot easier for people to keep records of these laws and ensure that the standard of food products does not drop within the country.

What is Fssai? 

FSSAI stands for the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India which serves as an independent government or food authority. The main aim of this body corporate is to regulate and monitor the quality of the food business in India to ensure the safety of food consumed within the country. It certifies and provides a standard which wraps all types of food items and makes sure that these items are germ-free and nontoxic for intake.

The FSSAI certification works the same way a barrier does, as it makes sure that the food is harmless or good enough to consume. Every business related to food or food processing such as import, export, cold storage, manufacturing, distribution, and even packaging have to obey the FSSAI guidelines and must have an effective FSSAI license to operate in India.

Functions of Fssai

Following are the set of rules that help enact the food safety standards and make sure those standards are met.

• Plan strategies for declared bodies and manage certification scheme.
• Generate procedures that summarize the certification of laboratories to exam food.
• Deliver information and technical support to the government in points regarding food safety laws.
• Gather information about food intake, health hazards, contaminants, and coming biological force.
• Produce a system that delivers people information about these threats.
• Provide education for people involved in the food business.
• Upgrade awareness about food safety.

What is AGMARK?

AGMARK is a quality certificate that labels that a product is pure and has the necessary quality as per the set of standards approved by a governing body. It acts as a third party promise for agricultural products used up in India. The worth of an agricultural product is based on its inherent merit.

Products that fall under AGMARK

1. Pulses
2. Whole spices
3. Vegetable oils
4. Wheat Products
5. Milk products
6. Honey
7. Rice
8. Tapioca Sago
9. Seedless tamarind
10. Besan (Gram flour)

There is a wide-ranging list of the product certifications under which the businesses have to comply. Food laws are some of the most scrutinizing ones. These two are the most popular food certifications i.e., AGMARK and FSSAI.

Below are some of the highlights to differentiate the two-

Most of the people confuse with the bodies who actually grant the certification for food. There is a very comprehensive and minute difference between them.

• The prime difference between them is AGMARK's role as a certification while FSSAI is a government agency whose role is on food control. AGMARK works wholly for agricultural products while, FSSAI covers just about every food item whether it be of the land origin or not. It covers all process of food processing from manufacturing to sale.

• FSSAI established under Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, AGMARK comes under the Agriculture Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act of India, 1937.

• AGMARK certification contracts with chemicals, microbiological experiments, pesticide residue levels. AGMARK is set only for the product rather than an individual farmer. Currently, 213 agricultural products come under AGMARK certification. FSSAI License is allotted only for individual institutions. Every branch of a fast-food restaurant chain needs an FSSAI License of its own even if all branches come under one franchisee. FSSAI has three types of licenses: Basic, State and Central.

• AGMARK is approved by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection comes under the Department of Agriculture. FSSAI is a government Authority.

In India, there are countless numbers of certifications. There are numerous acts which are legally obligatory on the business owners, some of the foremost ones in relation to food are FSSAI and AGMARK. We can’t undermine the importance of food laws, they handle one of the most important sectors health and hygiene. But, government institutions should ensure the effective implementation of laws.

FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) regulates and monitors the products in the food business to make sure that the food consumed is safe. Instead, AGMARK is a certificate of quality issued on those products that come across the guidelines stated by the governing authority. From here, you would have got to know that both these standards are meant to assure good health and hygiene.

Conclusion

FSSAI is well known to enact its science-based standards for food products as well as manages the conditions of manufacturing, storing, and even warehousing, distribution, making sanitary standards, upgrading awareness among the consumers. Closing on, AGMARK well-known for its certification mark but FSSAI is a government agency on every food item. But what if you have some issues to resolve? Well, you can contact NeuSource for any consultancy required.

For further queries please contact us on Email Id Swati@neusourcestartup.com and Phone Number 9540026175.

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