How to Check Organic Food Products in India
Everyday, the Indian market is flooded with new organic products, which appear to be healthy & different from normal products. The variety of choices and claims made by each of these products, confuse about the authenticity of their claims and genuineness these products.
While it may seem confusing, but the consumer has some simple ways of determining that the product is really organic or not. The Government of India has taken initiatives to protect the rights of consumers and prevent proliferation of fake products under the Organic Product umbrella.
How to Check Organic Food Products in India
A. Look for Logos
Just like green & red dots on products to signify if they are vegetarian or non-vegetarian, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Other organisation working in the field have introduced different logos to help customers identify authentic organic products.
1. Jaivik Bharat
The consumer should look for Food Safety and Standard Authority of India’s unified organic food product logo – Jaivik Bharat and FSSAI Logo License number.
2. India Organic Logo (NPOP certified)
In addition, the product may carry India Organic Logo (NPOP certified) along with FSSAI license number.
Under National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) System:
- In case of single ingredient product where all requirements been met as per the specified standards can be labelled as ‘Organic’.
- In case of multi ingredient product where min. 95% of ingredients are of certified origin, can be labelled as ‘Certified Organic’.
Besides logo it would also have Name and logo of the Accredited Certification Body & Accreditation Number.
3. PGS-India Certified Organic Food Products
In addition to Jaivik Bharat logo, the organic product may also carry PGS-India Logo. Under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) -India system:
- In case of single ingredient product where all requirements have been met, may be labelled as ‘PGS- Organic’.
- In case of multi ingredient product where min. 95% of ingredients are organic, it may be labelled as ‘PGS- Organic’.
Both the programmes (NPOP and PGS-India) are independent of each other and products certified under one system cannot be processed or labeled under another system. While NPOP certified products can be traded in export and in domestic market including imports, PGS-India certified products can be traded only in domestic market.
B. Check with Online Database
The FSSAI in collaboration with APEDA and PGS-India has also built a web-portal to consolidate all the information in form of “Indian Organic Integrity Data Base”, to help consumers verify the authenticity of organic food. Through this portal, consumers can access information about the producer, the certification system and the availability of certified organic products.
So does that mean, any product that does not have Jaivik Bharat Logo is not Organic or Fake ?
No, FSSAI has permitted small organic producers, having an annual turnover of over Rs 12 lakh, to sell their produce directly to end consumers without certification (Jaivik Bharat Logo) till April 2020. A similar relaxation has been given to ‘aggregators’ having an annual turnover of Rs 50 lakh.
So, while you may find genuine organic products also without the logo(s) and label. One thing is for sure that, the products with such logo would meet national organic standards.