What is AGMARK?

AGMARK is a certification mark employed on agricultural products in India, assuring that they conform to a set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection an attached Office of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare under Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare an agency of the Government of India.

What is FSSAI?

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is established to exercise the powers granted to, and to perform the functions assigned to, it under the Food Safety and Standards Act. It is called the Food Authority. The Food Authority is a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.

FSSAI and AGMARK

There is a wide-ranging list of the product certifications and any of the acts that are made by the Parliament Of India under which the businesses have to comply. Food laws are some of the most scrutinizing laws that are made and that are carried out in the country. Two of the most popular food certifications are AGMARK and the FSSAI license.

This article would help you to tell the difference between the FSSAI license and AGMARK.

So, how do they differ from each other?

Many of the people confuse them with bodies that are granting the same certification for food. But, there is a very comprehensive and a minute difference between them.

1)  The basic difference between them is that AGMARK is a certification mark which is given to the agricultural products in order to conform to the Agriculture Products Act,1986  whereas, FSSAI (Food Standard and Safety Authority of India) is an agency or a division of the Ministry of Health & Family welfare.

 2)  AGMARK is thus employed on the agricultural products for assurance of the quality of the product which is the supervising agency. The Directorate of the Marketing & Inspection, Government of India acts as a Certifying Agency in order to Certify the product conformity.

 3)  FSSAI helps to regulate and it also supervises the functioning of the food businesses in India, and in order to monitor and to promote public health. It is thus mandatory for all the food business operators, distributors, retailers and the storage houses to get an FSSAI license. AGMARK was however established under the Agriculture Produce (Grading and marking) Act of India, 1937 ( amended in 1986), while FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006.

4) AGMARK, at present, helps to covers the quality guidelines of 213 agricultural products, spanning from pulses to fresh fruits. The Department of Agriculture & Co-operation that is a division of the Directorate of Marketing & Inspection; implements the agricultural policies, the training of personnel in agricultural, promoting of good storage practices, and also the agricultural reforms and also to promote awareness.

FSSAI is known to lay down its science-based standards for the food products,  it also oversees the conditions of manufacturing, storing and for warehousing, distribution, developing of sanitary standards and also for promoting awareness among the consumers. In conclusion, AGMARK is a certification mark while FSSAI is a government agency.

Related Article– FSSAI Registration for Petty Food Business