FSSAI Issued Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) For Aggregators or Intermediaries facilitating sales between Farmers/ small original producers and producer organizations and end consumers – Exempt Entities
Background:
Many consultative processes held by FSSAI have established the need for the organic regulation to support small farmers/original producers and producer organizations who generally sell in local markets either by organizing themselves or through local intermediaries/aggregators. Such farmers/producers and producer organizations may not have regular market surpluses and maintaining certification systems may not be possible or viable for them.
This SoP is the implementation guide for exemption provided to Aggregators or Intermediaries in Section 4 (3) of the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017.
Pre-requisites:
- Exemption from the requirement of certification under these rules shall be applicable only to “Aggregators or Intermediaries who collect organic food from farmer/ small original producer or producer organization and sell it to the end consumer”
- Exemption will be available to aggregators or intermediaries as per the provisions of FSSAI with an annual turnover of less than or equal to Rs 50 lakhs per annum, or as amended from time to time by the food authority.
- Exemption under these rules shall be applicable to aggregators and intermediaries under state license only.
- Aggregators or Intermediaries, as a single legal entity may have one or many sales channels, but the turnover for exemption will be the aggregate sales of all the Channels.
- Aggregators/ intermediaries shall not engage in manufacturing, processing and private labelling by hiring or outsourcing processing, purchase/ sale of exempted products from other than farmer/ primary original producers/ producer organizations or any such similar activity.
- Aggregators/ intermediaries shall ensure that exempted organic produce is displayed in a manner distinguishable from the display of in-conversion/ certified organic/ conventional food.
- Aggregators or Intermediaries shall maintain their own internal control and traceability records to demonstrate the compliance of organic products to standards under any of the two certification systems mentioned in sub-regulation (i.e. NPOP or PGS-India).
Requirements of registration/ documents
- Documents to be maintained by aggregators/ intermediaries for such exempted category of organic products may interalia include:
- List of organic products traded as organic in compliance of these rules with Jaivik Bharat Logo along with their traceability records as per relevant certification system (in case if it is trading the certified organic products also)
- Separate List of exempted organic products, to be prominently displayed
- Purchase records for exempted category of organic products directly from primary producers with details of commodities, purchased, handled/ packed and sold
- List of farmers with their address and contact details from whom such exempted category of organic products has been procured.
- Sales record for the previous year to indicate turnover
- Such Aggregators or Intermediaries shall ensure that all such exempted organic products do not carry any certification logo or Jaivik Bharat Logo.
- Aggregators or Intermediaries shall ensure that such exempted category of organic products after purchase from farmers/ primary producers and producer organizations are sold only to the end consumers and not used for any processing/ manufacturing or for sale to other traders/ intermediaries or other FBOs.
- Such Aggregators or Intermediaries shall not engage in conflicting branding or brand labeling of exempted organic products to ensure their distinct identity away from certified products.
- Aggregators or intermediaries shall be aware of the provisions of the National standards of Organic farming and ensure that the organic integrity is not compromised.
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