The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified the regulations for sale of til oil (from north east), kangra tea and honey dew without Agmark. Currently, these products cannot be sold without the Agmark seal on packages under the prohibition regulations of the FSS Act.
The notified regulations called the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Second Amendment Regulations, 2020, wherein the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011, in regulation 2.3, sub-regulation 2.3.2 (relating to restriction on sale of Carbia Callosa and Honey dew), 2.3.9 (related to restriction on sale of til oil produced in Tripura, Assam and West Bengal) and sub-regulation 2.3.10 (related to restriction on sale of Kangra tea) shall be omitted.
Presently, the prohibition regulations say that til oil (sesame oil) obtained from white sesame seeds, grown in Tripura, Assam and West Bengal having different standards than those specified for til oil shall be sold in sealed containers bearing Agmark label. Where this til oil is sold or offered for sale without bearing an Agmark label, the standard given for til oil shall apply.
For Kangra tea, the condition was that it shall be sold or offered for sale only after it is graded and marked in accordance with the provisions of the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 (1 of 1937), and the regulations made there under. And similarly Carbia Callosa and Honey dew shall be sold only in sealed containers bearing Agmark seal.
After the notification of the amended regulation, the requirement of Agmark for sale of these products stands null and void
