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In the 1970s and 80s, the Indian Government was advertising the AGMARK or Agricultural Mark certification on Doordarshan. An attempt was made to create awareness and promote among general masses about the use of certification for several agricultural products. For example, Mustard Oil, vegetables, refined Oil, Milk, etc.
Every product over industries is certified as per quality standards. When it comes to food products, there are acts such as the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 among others. These assure that we consume quality products that are free from adulteration. The latest standards that deal with food products are FSSAI and AGMARK. Get to know the differences between these standards from here.
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. The organization’s name is 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.
FSSAI and AGMARK
There is a wide-ranging list of the product certifications and any of the acts 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. FSSAI has some rules for food license which you should know about. 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 minute difference between them.
Table of Difference between FSSAI and AGMARK
| Basis | AGMARK | FSSAI |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | AGMARK is a certifictaion made for all the agricutural products in India. | FSSAI is established as a regulatory body under the Food safety and standard act of 2006 for inspecting the quality of food products. |
| Establishment | Established under agriculture produce i.e grading and marking the act of India,1937. | Established under the Food safety and standard Act, 2006. |
| Role | Its is employed on agricultural products in India assuring that they conform to a set of Standard approved by Directorate of MArking and Inspection an agency of the government of in India | It lays down science-based standards for articles food to regulate their manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale, and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. |
| Basic | Certification | Inspection of Agency |
| Allotment | The allotment is done after various analyses. | The allotment is done on the basis of turnover and activity. |
| Coverage | The present AGMAR standards cover quality guidelines for 205 different commodities spanning a variety of Pulses, Cereals, essential oils, vegetable oil, etc. | It covers all the food products for some standards have prescribed while a lot of them have to abide by the different provisions of law. |
Comprehensive Difference between AGMARK & FSSAI
1) The basic difference between them is that AGMARK is a certification mark that is given to the agricultural products 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. Learn how to create the FSSAI login.
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 to Certify product conformity.
3) FSSAI helps to regulate and it also supervises the functioning of the food businesses in India, and 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 ( amendments in 1986), while under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 FSSAI is set up.
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 is a division of the Directorate of Marketing & Inspection. This department implements the agricultural policies, trains personnel in agricultural, promotes good storage practices, and also the agricultural reforms.
Conclusion
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. But what if you have some issues to resolve? Well, you can contact FSSAI at their respective FSSAI offices.
For FSSAI Licence related service you can contact our experts. They will guide you for FSSAI related documentation, procedures and will explain to you the benefits of registration.
You can call us at +91-875-000-8844.
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