The FPO mark is a
certification mark
A certification mark (or conformity mark) on a commercial product indicates the existence of an accepted product standard or regulation and a claim that the manufacturer has verified compliance with those standards or regulations. The specific ...
mandatory on all processed fruit products sold in India such as packaged fruit beverages, fruit-jams, squashes, pickles, dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts, following the ''Food Safety and Standards Act'' of 2006. 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, but the mark itself got a mandatory status only after the ''Food Safety and Standards Act'' of 2006. A FPO license is, in fact, necessary to start a fruit processing industry in India. The agency that develops standards for this purpose and that which issues the mark is the
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) is a ministry of the Government of India responsible for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to food processing in India. The ministry was set up in the ye ...
of the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
.
FPO's specific requirement
# 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
Application
The important documents that are required to be submitted to the Ministry of Food Processing in India during the time of filing application are listed below:
# Product name
# Candidate name
# Corporation name
# Address
# Sample of product
References
{{Reflist
marks }India}The Fruit Products Order, 1955. (FPO) has been repealed as per section 97 (1) of The Food Safety & Standards Act , 2006 after 5th August 2011 the date on which it was enacted in India . The Food Safety & Standards Act , 2006
Agricultural marketing in India
Certification marks in India
in in India