FPO mark
| FPO mark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Expansion | Fruit products order |
| Certifying agency | Ministry of Food Processing Industries (India) |
| Effective region | India |
| Effective since | 1955 |
| Product category | Processed fruit products |
| Legal status | Mandatory |
| Mandatory since | 2006 |
The FPO mark is a certification mark mandatory on all processed fruit products sold in India such as packaged fruit beverages, fruit-jams, crushes and squashes, pickles, dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts, following the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.[1] The FPO mark guarantees that the product was manufactured in a hygienic 'food-safe' environment, thus ensuring that the product is fit for consumption.
The standards have been in force since 1955 by the law of Fruit Products Order, after which the mark is named,[2][3] but the mark itself got a mandatory status only after the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.[4] A FPO license is, in fact, necessary to start a fruit processing industry in India.[5] The agency that develops standards for this purpose and that which issues the mark is the Ministry of Food Processing Industries of the Government of India.
References
- ^ National Institute of Open Schooling. 'Wise Buying.' Archived October 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Official web site.
- ^ Financial Express. 'Now You Can Get FPO Licence Online.'
- ^ CreatIndia. Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Food laws and Regulations".