THE USER'S MANUAL ON CODEX - Department of Biotechnology

eimburse 50 per cent. The MFPI also launches joint venture food processing units for promoting GHPs
and the HACCP. These are either with state governments or with promotional bodies.
The sectors are:
k Fruit Processing
k Meat Processing
k Fish Processing
k Dairy Products
k Snack Products
The Central Government has allotted enough finance for these sectors in the current five-year plan. The
Ministry of Food Processing is extending financial and technical support to the industry to have the
system in place and a number of units have implemented the system.
D.4 Spices Board
It is also in the area of training spice processors in self-inspection. The Board has a program of
in-process Quality Control to grant the Spice logo to the processors as a mark of quality. Though the
HACCP is not fully implemented in the spice industry, the facility with the logo will certainly find it easy
to install the HACCP in place, as there is already a hygiene system in practice.
E. INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR IMPORTED FOOD
As stated earlier, imported food is inspected at the ports of entry by personnel of the Collectorate of
Customs. If necessary, samples are further tested in the laboratories designated/notified for this purpose
by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to verify the compliance with the requirements stipulated
under the PFA Act, 1954 and Rules.
In addition to the above general procedure, 47 food items required by domestic regulations to carry the
ISI Mark on the food label are inspected for a broad spectrum of requirements which include product
quality and safety standards as well as compliance with GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) and the
HACCP. Inspection for the ISI Mark is carried out by inspectors of the Bureau of Indian Standards either
at the place of manufacture in the foreign country or prior to entry. A procedure for self-certification of
foreign manufacturers or importers of products requiring the ISI Mark has recently been established by
the BIS.
F. PROCEDURES FOR FOOD EXPORT INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION
The Export Inspection Council (EIC) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the official government
inspection body for certifying food products for export. It carries out the inspection of several food
articles such as marine, milk products, meat, honey, poultry, Basmati rice, black pepper and cashew
meant for export.
An interdepartmental panel (IDP) consisting of representatives from industry promotion boards such as
the Marine Products Export Development Authority and the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology
initially carry out an assessment of the documents, describing the quality assurance systems and standards
used by a fish company requesting for certification. If the IDP approves the system, representatives from
the same panel audit the company as a team.
The certification or approval of the seafood plant and facility is based on the HACCP implementation
and compliance during audit. For other sectors, the certificates issued by other agencies such as the
Directorate of Marketing and Inspection operating the AGMARK certification scheme, Ministry of Food
Processing Industries implementing FPO (Fruit Products Order 1955) and so on, are based on quality
and commercial parameters. The processor often gets the end-products tested to meet the importing
country’s requirements.
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