Food Standards, Implementation
and Quality Control
Satish Chacker and KK Juneja
Food is one of the essentials for maintenance of life and is embedded in cultural and social habits of people. It is very important that the food available is safe/hygiene, wholesome with right nutritional content, free from infection/bacterial contamination, intoxication, contamination and adultration
Changes have been brought about habits-resulting due to developments in technology and for socio economic reasons, food is in increasing demand for a range of food products. Therefore Food Regulations and standards have become a sensitive subject and the regulation of the quality of the food products the object of an increasing public interest. Quality being the first consideration for the Consumer acceptance, which in turn is linked with recognised national and international standards, reflecting the national and international markets which are essential for the manufacturer to be able to design, produce and market products embracing the Consumer's needs of quality features and using upto date technologies. Complience with these standards is ensured through the use of regulatory standards and quality assurance systems.
STANDARDISATION SYSTEMS IN INDIA
In the food and agriculture sector there are number of organisations responsible for the formulation of Standards and monitoring their quality. These can be generally classified in two systems as under.
A. Compulsory Legislations
B. Voluntary Standards
A Compulsory Legislations
1. Prevention of Food Adultration Act 1954
The most important compulsory legislation in our country in the area of Food Products is the Prevention of Food Adultration Act. (PFA-1954). The PFA-1954 Act is the basic Statutory regulation is intented to protect the common Consumer against the supply of adultrated food products. The Act makes provision for prevention of adultration of food products and lays down that no person shall manufacture for sale, store, distribute any adultrated or misbranded food products not conforming to the Standards laid down under the Rules. These Standards are of minimum quality and are intended to ensure safety in the consumption of these food products and safe guarding against harmful impurities contaminations and adultration etc. Provisions of this act are mandatory and contravention to these rules leads to both fine and imprisonment.
The Central Committee for Food Standards (C.C.F.S.) and its various Subcommittees under the Directorate General of Health Services (D.G.H.S.) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is responsible for operation and enforcement of the Act. Various interests concerned with Food Standards including consumer interests have representations in this Committee.
2. Essential Commodities Act 1954
A number of Control orders have been formulated under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act. The main objectives of the Act are to regulate manufacture/production, Commerce/trading and distribution of the essential commodities including the food products.
Some of the important orders of the act are enumerated below:-
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The Fruit Products Order (F.P.O.-1955) The fruits products order regulates manufacture and distribution of fruits and vegetable products, sweetened aerated waters, ready to serve beverages, synthetic syrups, vinegars etc. The objective of the order is mainly to regulate, ensure the quality and hygiene of these products as per Standards laid down under the order.
The order is operated by the Ministry of Food Processing Industry through the Central Fruit Products Advisory Committee.
The manufacture or relabelling of the fruits and vegetable products can be carried out only after a valid licence is issued by the Food Processing Ministry, which empowers the licensee to put their standard mark on the Food Products. |
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Solvent Extracted Oils, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour Control Order, Vegetable Oil Products Order, Meat and Meat Products Control Order
These regulatory orders control the manufacture/production and distribution of the products enumerated __ the objective being to ensure the quality and hygiene of these products as per various standards laid down in the order.
Solvent Extracted Act, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour Control Order, Vegetable oil Products Order are operated by the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils and Fats. A licence for the production/manufacturing and distribution is necessary which is granted by the Directorate after on Satisfactory conditions being full filled.
Meat Food Products order is operated by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection. |
B.VOLUNTARY STANDARDS
The Voluntary Certification Systems in the food products is mainly organised by two bodies. The Bureau of Indian Standards (B.I.S.) is looking after the processed foods and their raw materials, while the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection AGMARK is looking after the standardisation of various raw and finished agricultural produce.
1. Bureau of Indian Standards (B.I.S.)
The main functions of the Bureau of Indian Standards the national standards Organisation of India are formulation of Indian standards for food and food products and their implementation by promotion and through voluntary and third party certification systems. These standards in general cover raw materials permitted and their quality parameters, hygienic conditions of manufacturing and product safety with respect of microbial Contaminations.
B.I.S. maintains and gives recognition to various laboratories for the purpose of standardisation and quality control. The B.I.S. Standard mark on the food products certifies that the product complies with a particular Indian Standard Specification and also guarantees that the manufacturer operates a quality assurance/control scheme in the production on a continued basis.
The Certification Scheme is basically voluntary but for some products of mass consumption affecting the health and safety of the consumer are brought under Compulsory/Mandatory B.I.S. Certification Marking under various Act/Rules and Notification of Government of India.
The various products covered for mandatory B.I.S. certification are food colours and their preparations, food additives, preservatives, vanaspati, milk Products and infant foods.
2. Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (D.M.I.)
Directorate of Marketing and Inspection formulates grade Standards known as "AGMARK" with relevant quality definitions and grade designation marks in respect of various agricultural, horticulture, live stock, dairy and forest products. The quality of the product is assessed and determined with reference to various factors like different areas of production, variety, shape, weight, colour, moisture, fat content and other relevant chemical and physical parameters.
AGMARK grades are statutory grades expressed through AGMARK label/replica. These are framed under the provisions of the Agriculture Produce Grading and Marking Act and the General Grading and Marking Rules (1986 and 1988).
Grading under the provision of this Act is voluntary but penalties for contravening the rules include fine, cancellation of manufacturing/production licence as well as imprisonment.
3. Eco-Mark
The Ministry of Environment and Forests have instituted on labelling of environment friendly products, on a national basis. With the consciousness of environment conservation growing day by day the adoption of ECO-MARK in different categories of food products will become necessary. The products will have to carry ECO-MARK a new standard certifying them environment friendly. The scheme provides to indentifying, accredation and labelling of consumer products which do least damage to the environment and also meet the quality standards/requirements of the relevant Indian Standard for the product.
Some of the food products identified under the ECO-MARK Certification are Tea, Coffee, Refined Vegetable oils, Vanaspati, Food Additives/Preservatives, Processed Fruits and Vegetable Products, Infant Foods and Beverages.
4. ISO Standards
With the increasing focus being given to the management of quality worldwide, the International Standards Organisation has introduced the quality system standards ISO 9000 series. These Standards provide guidelines and criteria for the formal control of products and services by the manufacturing company and assure the purchaser/consumer a consistent acceptable standard of products and services.
ISO Standards reflects a long term concepts and terminology, quality systems and supporting technologies.
IMPLEMENTATION OF STANDARDS/QUALITY CONTROL
For effective implementation of the regulatory standards and monitoring the quality of the graded and certified foods and food products made available by the manufacturers requires a net work of Testing/Analytical Laboratories with basic modern analytical facilities and technical manpower.
The functions of these laboratories will be
To carry out/undertake the testing of the food products as per various regulatory standards and ascertain their compliance to the relevant standards.
Undertake Research and Development (R&D) investigations, Collaborative Studies and generation of data for evolving new standards and revising the existant standards and quality assessment studies.
To identify and take corrective actions on non-conformities observed by quality assessments.
QUALITY CONTROL
Before undertaking the testing of Food Products it is necessary to classify the Foods Products and the quality tests to be undertaken.
Food and Food Products are classified as under
