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FSSAI Sets Up Panel to Overhaul Organic Food Regulations

The overhaul of regulations is expected to further consolidate this position by aligning domestic frameworks with international best practices. The new norms will also refine the role of certification and accreditation bodies, ensuring greater clarity and consistency across the system.

• By Newsdesk
• New Delhi
• Sep 09, 2025

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has constituted a high-level panel to comprehensively revise regulations governing organic food, in a move aimed at modernising standards, boosting consumer confidence, and strengthening India’s position in the global organic market.

The committee will focus on updating the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017, which are currently linked to the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), framed in 2014. These rules define certification requirements, accreditation processes and labelling norms for organic produce sold under the India Organic mark. Officials said the revision will introduce sharper, globally aligned standards that address gaps in existing rules and respond to the evolving international trade environment.

India’s organic production standards already hold equivalence recognition from the European Commission, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, giving the country’s exporters access to lucrative foreign markets. The overhaul of regulations is expected to further consolidate this position by aligning domestic frameworks with international best practices. The new norms will also refine the role of certification and accreditation bodies, ensuring greater clarity and consistency across the system.

Over the past two decades, India has emerged as one of the leading players in the global organic sector, with both demand and production expanding rapidly. Strengthening regulations is seen as a crucial step to maintain credibility, protect consumer trust and unlock further growth potential.

While the panel has been formed, FSSAI has not yet provided a timeline for the rollout of the revised rules, indicating that the process remains at an early stage. However, industry experts believe the move underscores the regulator’s recognition of organic food as a fast-growing and strategically important category that requires a modern and transparent regulatory framework.