Standards and Quality Control
What this domain tests
This section tests the legal and institutional framework for food standards, labelling and quality marks in India. Questions often ask which mark or regulation applies to a product, and what a label must declare.
Core rules and concepts
- The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 consolidated earlier food laws; FSSAI was set up under it and the Act became operational in 2011.
- FSSAI regulations cover licensing and registration, packaging and labelling, additives, contaminants and laboratory analysis.
- A label generally needs product name, ingredients, net quantity, nutrition information, veg or non-veg logo, FSSAI licence or registration number, best-before or expiry date, storage instructions and allergen declaration.
- AGMARK is a grading mark under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937; it is largely voluntary but mandatory for certain notified products.
- BIS and ISI marks come under the BIS Act, 2016; ISI is mandatory only for listed products.
- Codex Alimentarius is the international food standards programme of FAO and WHO; ISO 22000 is a food safety management system standard.
Worked example
A packaged biscuit packet shows the brand name, net weight and price but no veg logo, ingredient list or best-before date. It is non-compliant because these are mandatory label declarations under FSSAI labelling rules. The inspector should record the missing declarations, not merely check that the packet is sealed.
Traps that cost marks
An FSSAI licence is not a quality grade. AGMARK is not the same as FSSAI. ISI is not compulsory for every product. Best-before is not the same as expiry date.