The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India published a regulatory framework to ensure the authenticity of foods that are labeled as ‘organic.’
According to the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017, no person or business may manufacture, pack, sell, offer for sale, market, or otherwise distribute or import any organic foods unless they comply with the requirements laid down under these regulations.
1) Any food offered or promoted for sale as ‘organic food’ shall comply with all the provisions of one of the following:
a) The National Program for Organic Production – this body is administered by the Government of India to promote organic farming in the country. Among its many mandates are:
- being the nodal quality control laboratory for analyzing organic fertilizers
- revising standards and testing protocols
- providing financial assistance for agro-waste compost production units, bio-fertilizers/bio-pesticides production units
- development and implementation of quality control regimes
- promoting organic farming in the country through technical capacity building of all the stakeholders including human resource development, transfer of technology, promotion and production of quality organic and biological inputs
b) The Participatory Guarantee System for India – This is a part of an internationally applicable organic quality assurance system called the Participatory Guarantee System. The system certifies organic products that maintain quality standards, including ensuring that the cultivation and production process is done according to standards stipulated for organic products. The products are certified as organic in the form of a documented logo or a statement.
c) Any other system or standards as may be notified by the Food Authority from time to time.
2) The regulation mandates that all organic foods carry accurate information on the organic status of the produce as well as a certification mark or a quality assurance mark given by recognized certification bodies.
3) Food marketed through direct sale by the original producer or producer organization to the end consumer is exempted from verification compliance; however, this exemption does not apply to processed organic products.
4) All organic foods will need to comply with the packaging and labeling requirements specified under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011.
5) Any seller of organic food either exclusively or as part of their retail merchandise is required to display such food in a manner distinguishable from the display of conventional food.
6) To establish the organic integrity of any food produce in question, investigations will be conducted up to the producer level.
7) Organic food imports will be permitted under bilateral or multilateral agreements on the basis of equivalence of standards between the National Program for Organic Production and the organic standards of the respective exporting countries; in such cases the products/produce will not need to be
re-certified on import to India
8) All imported organic food consignments will need to be accompanied by a transaction certificate issued by an Accredited Certification Body covered under the terms of the equivalence agreement.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
