The products and services that the manufacturers provide us may contain defaults or the product may be harmful or may be counterfeit.
So to prevent such fraud, there are such marks in our country which are definitely there for certification of certain types of products which are non-harmful.
Two such types of marks are FSSAI mark and Agmark. Different products come under sub-marks.
Key Takeaways
- FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) is a government organization responsible for ensuring food safety and quality in India. At the same time, AGMARK is a certification mark for agricultural products that meet specific quality standards.
- FSSAI sets food safety regulations, licenses food businesses, and monitors compliance, whereas AGMARK focuses on grading and certifying agricultural commodities.
- FSSAI and AGMARK contribute to consumer confidence in food products by promoting quality, safety, and transparency in the food industry.
FSSAI vs AGMARK
FSSAI stands for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. It is a regulatory body responsible for supervising and ensuring the safety and quality of food products in India. AGMARK, stands for Agricultural Marketing. It is a certification mark used in India for agricultural products.
FSSAI is an abbreviation for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is a legal body that is set up under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
The FSSAI was established under the act of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. AGMARK is a mark of verification put on agricultural products. The validation of AGMARK works in India.
The mark of AGMARK ensures that the products of agriculture follow the set of benchmarks stated by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, an office of the Government of India.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | FSSAI | AGMARK |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment Date | The FSSAI was established in 2006. | The AGMARK was established in 1937 however the year was amended to 1987. |
| Headquarters | The FSSAI is headquartered in New Delhi. | The AGMARK is headquartered in Faridabad, Haryana. |
| Basis | Agency for inspection | Certification Agency |
| Product Type | Every edible food product. | Pulses, spices, cereals, vegetables, edible oils, rice, honey, etc. |
| Procedure | The procedure of registration for FSSAI takes place online. | The procedure of AGMARK takes place online. |
What is FSSAI?
The main responsibility of the body, FSSAI, is to safeguard and encourage public health via the ruling and supervision of food safety and welfare. A non-executive chairperson is responsible for leading the body, FSSAI.
The Central Government of India appointed this chairperson of DSSAI. Rajesh Bhushan is the present chairperson of the body, FSSAI, and the present chief executive officer of FSSAI is Arun Singhal.
The food safety body, FSSAI is headquartered in New Delhi. The regional offices of this body are situated in Guwahati, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Cochin, and Chennai.
The major objective of the FSSAI is to benefit the industries which are indulged in producing, handling packaging, and selling food products.
FSSAI is determined to allow everlasting licenses n the circumstances that every year they register their profits. Former Union Minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Government of India brought the body, FSSAI into existence.
The FSSAI was launched on 5 August 2011. The body, FSSAI started with its operations in 2006. The body FSSAI is constituted of 22 members and a chairperson.
The body is accountable for establishing benchmarks for food products. The body frames rules and regulations to be implied on the safety standards of food products.
FSSAI spreads information and awareness about food products and frames guidelines for providing authorities to laboratories for testing of food.
What is AGMARK?
The mark of AGMARK features as a third party that provides a guarantee of the quality of agricultural commodities. The mark of AGMARK is required of every agricultural commodity which needs to be sold in India.
The term AGMARK came into existence by uniting two words ‘Ag’ which is taken out of agriculture and ‘mark’ means the mark of certification.
At present, the standards of AGMARK count the quality rule and regulations for 200 plus different products, this includes pulses, essential oils, vegetable oils, cereals, etc. The platform was developed by NIC, National Informatics Centre.
The mark of certification of AGMARK is optional for various distinct products other than fat spread and edible vegetable oils which is compulsory as the FSSAI Regulations, 2006.
A boost takes place in the marketing of the products by this certification. The quality of commodities maintains by the morality of legal compliances.
The grading of AGMARK ensures that the agricultural commodities are not adulterated. The mark for AGMARK can be implied on both the motives domestic or export.
The process of application of AGMARK takes place on a platform that is present online.
Main Differences Between FSSAI and AGMARK
- FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 whereas, AGMARK is covered by the Agriculture Produce (Grading and Marking) Act of India, 1937 (amended in 1986).
- FSSAI, the allotment is done on the basis of turnover and activity while in the case of AGMARK Certification allotment is done after various analyses.
- FSSAI covers all the food products while AGMARK covers 205 agricultural products.
- The regional offices of the FSSAI are situated in Guwahati, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Cochin, and Chennai while the regional offices of AGMARK are located in Delhi, Kolkata, Bhopal.
- Former Union Minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Government of India brought the body, FSSAI into existence while the mark of AGMARK was developed by Archibald MacDonald Livingstone.
- https://gatesopenresearch.org/documents/3-1043
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jsfa.2740360605
Last Updated : 19 July, 2023
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
