UNIT-3
PFA, FPO, AGMARK, MMPO, MFPO, EDIBLE OIL ACTS, STANDARD WEIGHT
ACTS, HACCP AND WTO.
Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954:
• The Prevention of Food and Adulteration Act is a Central legislation.
• The Rules and Standards framed under the Act are uniformly applicable throughout the
country.
• Besides, framing of rules and standards, the following activities are also undertaken by
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The act was promulgated by parliament in 1954 to make provision for the prevention of
adulteration of food.
• Broadly, the PFA act covers food standards, general procedures for sampling, analysis of
food, powers of authorized officers, nature of penalties and other parameters related to
food.
• It deals with parameters relating to food additives, preservatives, colouring matters,
packaging & labelling of foods, prohibition & regulations of sales etc.
Objectives:
• Ensuring pure and wholesome food to consumers.
• To protect consumers from fraudulent and deceptive malpractices
• To maintain quality of food stuff and edible substances.
• To prevent adulteration of food.
Penalties:
• Guilt will be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six
months and upto 3 years and with fine upto one thousand rupees.
Important miscellaneous provisions:
• If any extraneous additions of colouring matter is added, the same should be indicated on
the labels.
• From the lables the blending composition of ingredients should be clear to customer.
• Addition of artificial sweetener should be mentioned on the label
• Sale of food colours without license prohibited.
• Sale of insect damaged dry fruits and nuts prohibited.
• Milk powder or condensed milk can be sold only with ISI mark.
• Containers not made of plastic material which is not according to the standards are not be
used.
• No anti-oxidant, emulsifiers and stabilising agent is permitted beyond the prescribed
level.
• Oils can be manufactured only in factories licensed for such purpose.
Advantages:
• Helps in maintaining quality of food stuff.
• Helps to provide punishment to the people & organization responsible for adulteration.
• Checking the quality of imported food stuff.
• Establishing public analysis, consumer tests, and food testing labels and training their
workers.
Fruit products order (FPO) 1955:
• Constituted under Essential Commodities Act it is mandatory for all manufacturers of
Fruit and Vegetable Products to obtain a licence under FPO.
• The act is implemented by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India through
Directorate of Fruit & Veg processing at its Regional Offices.
• The Fruit Product Order (FPO) lays down statutory minimum standards in respect of the
quality of various fruits and vegetable products and processing facilities at manufacture,
storage and sale.
• The Agricultural marketing Advisor is authorized by law to issue a license for
manufacturing fruits and vegetable products, after due inspection of the factory for
hygiene, sanitation and quality of formulation.
• Licenser is empowered to put the FPO specification mark on the product. The products
covered in FPO include, fruit juice, pulp concentrate, squashes, cordials, crush, fruit
syrups, nectar, aerated water containing fruit juice or pulp and read to serve beverages
etc.
• Depending on their quality the products are grade in four categories as ordinary, fair,
good and special.
• The FPO specifications cover list of constituents, a method of presentation permissible
colors in the preparation and also minimum quality requirement of the product.
• An expert committee known as the Central Food Product Advisory Committee deals with
all matters relating to the FPO.
FPO also lays down specific requirements in regard to the following:
• Containers and labeling requirement
• Limits of poisonous metals in fruit products
• List of permissible harmless food colors
• Limits for permitted preservatives in fruit products
• Other permitted additives
AGMARK :
• The word “AGMARK” is a derived from Agricultural Marketing.
• The AGMARK standard was setup by the directorate of marketing and insecption of the
government of India by introducing an agricultural products act in 1937.
• The word “AGMARK” seal ensures quality and purity.
• Before affixing the AGMARK label, there are four stages.
• Preliminary testing
• From the product, inspecting officers take representative samples.
• Technically qualified and experienced officers test the samples and assign AGMARK
quality grades.
• Afterwards the commodity is packed using AGMARK label or AGMARK replica on
pouches/containers.
• Even after sending the distributing markets, AGMARK products are subjected to
continuous inspection.
• The quality of a product is determined with reference to the size, variety, weight, colour,
moisture, fat content and other factors are taken into account.
• The act defines quality of cereals, spices, oilseeds, oil, butter, ghee, legumes and eggs
and provides for the categorisation of commodities into various grades depending on the
degree of purity in each case.
• The grades incorporated are grades 1,2,3 and 4 or special, good, fair and ordinary.
• Products available under AGMARK are pulses, wheat products, vegetable oils, ground
spices, whole spices, milk products, honey, asafoetida, rice, tapioca, sago, seedless
tamarind and gram flour.
• The central AGMARK laboratory at nagpur, continuously carries our research and
development work in this field.
Milk and milk product order (MMPO):
• The govt. of India had progulated the milk and milk product order (MMPO) 1992 on
9.06.1992 under the provisions of Essential commodity act, 1995.
• As per the provisions of this order, any person/dairy plant handling more than 10,000
liters per day of milk or 500 MT of milk solids per annum needs to be registered with the
registering authority appointed by the central government.
• In every case where the milk or milk product is packed by the holder of a registration
certificate in a tin, barrel, carton or any other container, the registration number shall
either be exhibited prominently on the side label of such container or be embossed,
punched or printed prominently there on.
• The main objective of the order is to maintain and increase in supply of liquid milk of
desired quality in the interests of the general public and also for regulating the
production, processing and distribution of milk and milk products.
• Recognizing the necessity for suitable amendments in milk and milk product order 1992
for faster pace of growth in the dairy sector, govt. of India has amended milk and milk
product order time to time in order to make it more liberal and orientated to faacilitate the
daily entrepreneurs.
The salient features of the new amendments made are as follows:
• The registerations under MMPO-92 will now cover sanitary, hygienic condition, quality
and food safety.
• The provision of inspection of dairy plant has been made flexible
• The provision to grant registration in 90 days has been reduced to 45 days.
• The power of registration of state registering authority has been raised from 1.00 LLPD
to 2.00 LLPD.
Meat food product order (MFPO):
• In 1973, Government of India promulgated an Order to enforce strict quality control on
the productio0n and processing of meat food products under Essential Commodities Act
1955.
• The responsibility to enforce this order was entrusted to Directorate of Marketing and
Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Reconstruction.
• The Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Government of India was made the ex-officio
Chairman of meat Food Products Advisory Committee with 10 members who aid and
advise ministry in any matter pertaining to this Order.
• The Order aims at maintenance of sanitary conditions in the slaughterhouses, ensuring
proper antemortem examination, postmortem inspection of carcasses, in-process
inspection and final product checking.
• Any food item which is made from flesh or any other edible part of the carcass through
the process of curing, smoking, cooking, drying or any other processing technique is
referred as meat food product.
• The Order does not apply on raw (chilled or frozen) meat.
Categories:
• MFPO, 1973 initially categorises the meat food manufacturers into the following three
broad heads on the basis of source of raw meat:
Category A : Includes those manufacturers or licencees of meat food products who possess their
own slaughterhouse.
Category B : Includes those manufacturers of meat food products who purchase meat from
approved slaughterhouse.
Category C : Includes those manufacturers of meat food products, who purchase raw meat from
any other source.
• The licence fee for each category differs and is collected every year at the time of
renewal of licence.
Schedules:
Meat Food Products Order, 1973 contains four schedules:
The First Schedule:
• Deals with application for licence or renewal of licence under MFPO.
• The information related to applicant, address of factory, source of raw material,
description of meat food products which the applicants proposes to manufacture,
installed capacity, a plan of factory and a list of equipments has to be provided.
• Application for renewal of licence should invariably contain the statements
pertaining to the quality and value of meat food products manufactured in the
previous year.
The Second Schedule:
• Deals with the minimum sanitary requirements to be complied with by a licencee.
• It contains detailed instructions regarding factory premises, construction, doors,
windows and ceiling, plumbing and drainage system, equipment and
manufacturing area, cold storage facilities, precautions against flies, rats and
mice, water supply, personnel hygiene and vaccination of factory workers,
provision of proper aprons and head gears, etc.
The Third Schedule:
• Deals with hygienic requirements to be complied with by a licencee who also
slaughters animals in his factory.
• It contains detailed instructions regarding separation between clean and dirty
sections within the slaughterhouse, provision of lairage, slaughter hall and
refrigeration facilities, antemortem examination, humane slaughter, postmortem
inspection and disposal of condemned carcasses or organs, etc.
The Fourth Schedule:
• Deals with the requirements to be complied with as regards to packaging, marking
and labeling the containers of meat food products.
• It contains detailed instruction with respect to proper packing and sealing of
flexible containers, use of internal lacquers and hermetic sealing in tin plate cans,
use of internal lacquers and hermetic sealing in tin plate cans, use of bottles and
jars.
• As per MFPO standards, canned meat food products should not contain poisonous
elements viz. lead, copper, arsenic, tin, zinc in excess of 2.5, 20, 2, 250 and 50
ppm respectively by weight.
Edible oil acts:
• In order to ensure availability of safe and quality edible oils in packed form at pre-
determined prices to the consumers, the central govt. promulgated on 17 th september,
1998.
• An edible oils packaging (regulation) order, 1998, under the essential commodities act,
1955 to make packaging of edible oils, sold in retail, compulsory unless specifically
exempted by the concerned state govt.
Short title, extent and commodities Act :
(1) This order may be called the Edible Packaging (Regulation) Order 1998.
(2) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official Gazatte.
Definitions:
In this order, unless the context otherwise requires.
a) “Act” means the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955)
b) Edible Oils means vegetable oils add fats but does not include any margarine vanaspati,
bakery shorting and fat spreed as specified in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (37
of 1954) and rules made there under, for human consumption.
C) “Label” means any written, marked, stamped, printed or graphic matter affixed to or
appearing upon, any container containing any edible oil.
Salient features of this orders are:
• Edible oils including edible mustard oil will be allowed to be sold only in packed form
from 15th december 1998.
• Packers will have to register themselves with a registering authority.
• The packers will have to have his own analytical facilities adequate arrangements for
testing the samples of edible oils to the satisfaction of the government.
Period of validity of certificate of registration:
• A certificate of registration, unless sooner suspended or cancelled, shall be valid for a
period of three years from the date of registration.
Standard weight acts:
• An act to provide for the enforcement of standards of weights and measures as laid down
by the standards of weights and measures act, 1976.
• This act to be read with the weights and measures act.
• During pre-akbar period, weights and measure system varied from region to region,
commodity to commodity, and rural to urban areas.
• The weights were based on the weight of various seeds and lenghts were based on the
length of arms and width of fingers.
Legislations:
• The standards of weights & measures act, 1976
• The standards of weights & measures (packaged commodities) rules, 1977
• The standards of weights & measures (enforcement) act, 1985
• The standards of weights & measures (general) rules, 1988
The standards of weights & measures act, 1976:
• Establishment of the weights and measure based on the SI (International system of
units), as adopted by the CGPM (General conference on weights and measures).
• Provides to prescribe specification of measuring instruments used in commercial
transaction, industrial production an measurement involved in public health and human
safety.
• Regulation of inter-state trade and commerce in weights and measures
• Regulation of pre-packed commodities.
• Approval (before manufacture) of models of weights and measuring instrument.
• Control and regulation of export and import of weights and measures and commodities in
packaged form.
• Establishment of an indian institute of legal metrology to provide training in legal
metrology to inspectors and others.
• Prescribe fee for various service rendered.
The standard of weights & measures (packaged commodities) rules, 1977:
Rules under the act:
• All the manufacturers of packaged products shall register under the act.
• All the weights and measures are to be indicated only in standard units.
• All the commodities sold in packaged form shall contain a clear declaration.
The standards of weights & measures (enforcement) act, 1985:
• Provision of this act to override provisions of any other law except the standards act
1976.
• It prohibits the use of weights and measures other than standards weights and measures
i.e, earlier use of inch, feet, dozen etc., is totally prohibited and it is replaced by metric
measurets (SI systems).
• Every packaged commodity which is kept for sale shall require mandatory declarations
and other additional declarations which are provided in standards of weights and measure
(packaged commodities) rules, 1977.
The standards of weights & measures (general) rules, 1988:
• States the specifications of measuring instruments used in commerical transaction,
industrial production and measurement involved in public health and human safety.
• The department of consumer affairs has already set in motion the process of adopting
new specifications in these rules in accordance with the recommendations made by
international organization of legal metrology to regulate newer types of weighing and
measuring instruments.
HACCP:
• HACCP stands for ‘Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point’.
• HAZARD – Food contamination/spoilage
• ANALYSIS – Finding out the source
• CRITICAL – The level of danger
• CONTROL – The remedial actions
• POINT – The stage for corrective action
HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
• A systematic preventive approach to food safety and biological, chemical and physical
hazards in production processes that may cause the finished product to be unsafe.
• HACCP is the prevention of hazards rather than finished product inspection. HACCP can
be used at all stages of a food chain from production to distribution
• HACCP has been recognised internationally as tool for adapting traditional inspection
methods to modern approaches
• Focuses on health safety issues of a product and not the quality
• Carry out 6 preliminary steps before undertaking a HACCP study
Objectives:
• To ensure that the food served to the guest is safe for human consumption.
• Awareness to food handling techniques.
• Understanding the faults and taking corrective action.
• Better knowledge to food handlers for longer shelf life of cooked and raw food.
• This methods also has other benefits of maintaining food quality and managing food cost.
Advantage:
• Can be applied throughout the food chain “from farm to plate”
• More effective use of resources, savings to the food industry and more timely response to
food safety problems.
• Enhances the responsibility and degree of control throughout the food chain
• Consumer protection, guarantee of food safety products.
• Compatible with the quality control systems.
• Flexibility according to technological changes, procedures, etc.
Physical hazard is any physical material not normally found in food,which causes illness or
injury and includes wood, stones, parts of pests, hair etc.
• Hair
• stone
• Stem & seeds
• Bone, fragments, feathers
• Match stick
• Jewellery
• Nails, nuts, bolts
• Strings, jute fiber
• Buttons
Chemical hazards are chemicals or deleterious substances which may be intentionally or un-
intentionally added to foods. This category of hazards includes
• Pesticides
• Chemical residues
• Toxic metals
• Polychlorinated biphenyls
• Preservatives
• Food colours
• Adulterants
• Other additives
Biological hazards are living organisms and include microbiological organisms
Visible Biological Hazards in Food:
• Worms
• cockroach
• caterpillars
• flies
Invisible (microbiological) hazards in food:
Bacteria, yeasts, protozoa, viruses, molds
World Trade Organisation (WTO):
• WTO was established in 1995. The main objective of WTO is to help trade flow
smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably, by administering trade agreements, settling trade
disputes, assisting countries in trade policy issues.
• The WTO Agreement covers goods, services and intellectual property.
• In order to enforce adoption and implementation of standards, there is a need for a strong
Food Control System. An effective food control system must consist of ,
(i) Food Inspection
(ii) Analytical capability.
Food Inspection:
• Conformity of products to standards is verified through inspection.
• This will ensure that all foods are produced, handled, processed, stored and distributed in
compliance with regulations and legislation.
• Government / Municipal authorities appoint food inspectors to investigate the status of
quality conformity to standards in their laboratories.
Analytical capability:
• There is need for well-equipped, state of-the-art accredited laboratories to carry out
analysis of food.
• Further, well- trained personnel having knowledge of principles of laboratory
management and physical, chemical and microbiological analysis of food, test foods and
food products are also required.
• A broad range of analytical capabilities is required for detecting food contaminants,
environmental chemicals, biotoxins, pathogenic bacteria, food borne viruses and
parasites.
