Food Grading and Certification: Ensuring Quality and Safety

Every time you pick up a packet of ghee, a bag of rice, or a bottle of vegetable oil from a store, there’s a good chance you glance at the label – even if briefly. Those small certification marks printed on the packaging carry significant weight. They tell you that the product inside has been tested, inspected, and meets defined quality standards. Food grading and certification form the backbone of quality assurance in the food industry, protecting both consumers and producers while keeping trade fair and transparent.

What is food grading? 🔗

Food grading is the process of classifying food products into defined quality categories based on measurable physical and chemical attributes. These attributes typically include size, shape, colour, maturity, moisture content, and visible defects such as blemishes, insect damage, or foreign matter. The goal is simple – sort products into uniform quality levels so that buyers know exactly what they’re getting without having to physically inspect every item.

For example, fresh fruits like mangoes and apples are graded based on their size, colour, maturity, and freedom from blemishes. Cereals and pulses, on the other hand, are graded based on moisture content, foreign matter, damaged grains, and presence of weevils. Each commodity typically has two to three grade levels prescribed for it, ranging from premium to standard quality.

Grading is not just about labelling a product as “good” or “bad.” It provides a standardised quality description that everyone in the supply chain – from farmers and traders to retailers and consumers – can understand and rely on. This common language for quality reduces the need for subjective judgement and makes market transactions far more efficient.

Why food grading matters 🔗

Fair pricing for producers 🔗

Without a grading system, farmers – especially smallholders – are at a disadvantage during price negotiations. A trader can undervalue high-quality produce simply because there’s no verified proof of its quality. Grading changes this dynamic. When a product carries a recognised grade designation, the farmer can demonstrate its quality with verifiable evidence, which strengthens their bargaining position and typically results in better price realisation.

Consumer protection 🔗

For consumers, grading provides assurance. You don’t need to be a food scientist to make informed purchasing decisions – the grade on the label tells you whether the product meets defined safety and quality parameters. This is especially important for products where quality differences are not easily visible, like edible oils, spices, and processed foods.

Smoother trade and reduced disputes 🔗

Grading serves as a common reference point for quality in commodity trading. When both buyer and seller agree on what a particular grade means, it reduces transaction costs, minimises disputes, and enables faster negotiations. This applies not only to domestic trade but also to international commerce, where quality benchmarks must be standardised across borders.

Key certification agencies in India 🔗

India has a well-established system of food certification, with several agencies working together to ensure quality across the supply chain. The three most important ones are AGMARK, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

AGMARK 🔗

AGMARK is a certification mark used specifically for agricultural products in India. The name combines “Ag” (agriculture) and “mark” (certification). It was introduced under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act of 1937, later amended in 1986, making it one of the oldest quality assurance frameworks in the country.

AGMARK is administered by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), which operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The DMI maintains headquarters at Faridabad along with 11 Regional Offices, 26 Sub-offices, and a network of Regional Agmark Laboratories plus a Central Agmark Laboratory in Nagpur.

Currently, AGMARK standards cover quality guidelines for over 220 different commodities, including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetable oils, ghee, spices, honey, butter, wheat flour, and fresh fruits and vegetables. For each commodity, grade standards are developed through a rigorous scientific process – samples are collected from various growing regions and markets, analysed in laboratories, and the resulting data is statistically evaluated to determine quality parameters for each grade.

While AGMARK certification is voluntary for most agricultural products, it is mandatory for certain items. For instance, FSSAI regulations require compulsory AGMARK certification for blended edible vegetable oils and fat spreads before they can be sold.

For domestic trade, commonly graded products include ghee, butter, spices, vegetable oils, mustard, wheat flour, honey, and gram flour. For exports, fruits, vegetables (especially grapes and onions), essential oils, and basmati rice are particularly significant.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the ISI mark 🔗

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national standards body of India, established under the BIS Act, 2016. While BIS covers a wide range of products across industries, its role in food certification is critical. BIS develops and maintains Indian Standards (IS) for food products including packaged drinking water, milk products, edible oils, cereals, and processed foods.

The ISI mark, granted through BIS’s Product Certification Scheme, is the quality symbol consumers commonly recognise. When a food product carries the ISI mark, it means the product has been tested, inspected, and verified to conform to the relevant Indian Standard. BIS certification is mandatory for several food products – such as packaged drinking water, milk powder, and infant food – while remaining voluntary for others.

BIS ensures continued compliance through regular surveillance, including unannounced factory visits and market surveillance where ISI-marked products are purchased and tested independently. Unauthorised use of the ISI mark carries serious legal penalties, including imprisonment and fines.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) 🔗

The FSSAI is a statutory body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, established through the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It consolidated eight older food-related laws into a single regulatory framework. FSSAI’s role is comprehensive – it regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food articles across India.

Every food business in India, whether it manufactures, stores, transports, or distributes food, requires FSSAI registration or licensing. The system operates on three tiers based on business size: basic registration for small operators with annual turnover up to ₹12 lakhs, state-level licensing for medium businesses, and central licensing for large-scale operators including importers and exporters.

FSSAI sets science-based food safety standards, mandates proper labelling (including ingredients, nutritional information, and expiry dates), conducts food safety audits, and accredits laboratories for testing. It plays a key role in ensuring that Indian food products align with both domestic safety requirements and international norms.

International standards: the role of Codex Alimentarius 🔗

When food crosses national borders, domestic grading and certification alone aren’t sufficient. This is where international standards come in, and the most important reference globally is the Codex Alimentarius.

The Codex Alimentarius, which translates to “Food Code” in Latin, is a collection of international food standards, guidelines, and codes of practice developed jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), established in 1963, currently comprises 188 member countries, 1 member organisation (the European Union), and over 230 observers.

Codex standards cover all principal foods – raw, semi-processed, and processed – and include provisions related to food hygiene, food additives, pesticide residues, contaminants, labelling, and methods of analysis and sampling. Importantly, the World Trade Organization (WTO) recognises Codex standards as the international reference point for food safety under its Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. This means that when trade disputes arise over food safety issues, Codex standards serve as the benchmark for resolution.

For countries like India, aligning domestic standards with Codex is essential for export competitiveness. When Indian food products meet Codex-referenced quality benchmarks, they gain easier access to international markets. This is why AGMARK standards, for instance, also consider specifications from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and ISO while developing grade standards for agricultural commodities.

How grading facilitates international trade 🔗

International food trade depends heavily on trust between buyers and sellers who may never physically inspect the goods being exchanged. Grading and certification bridge this gap by providing independently verified quality information that both parties can rely on.

Here’s how this works in practice. When an Indian exporter ships basmati rice or spices with AGMARK certification to an overseas buyer, the grade designation communicates a precise set of quality parameters – moisture content, foreign matter limits, active component levels, and more. The buyer doesn’t need to test every shipment from scratch because the certification provides a credible guarantee.

At the international level, adherence to Codex Alimentarius standards reduces what are known as non-tariff trade barriers. Countries cannot arbitrarily reject food imports that comply with internationally agreed standards. This protects exporters from unfair trade practices and ensures that quality – not politics – determines market access.

India’s export of agricultural products like grapes, onions, essential oils, and basmati rice has benefited significantly from AGMARK certification, which gives these products a quality credential recognised in international markets.

The grading process: how food products are evaluated 🔗

The actual process of grading involves both sensory evaluation and laboratory analysis, depending on the product and the grade standard.

Physical and sensory parameters 🔗

For fresh produce and visible agricultural products, grading often begins with physical inspection. Trained graders evaluate attributes like size, shape, colour, maturity, surface blemishes, and freedom from pest damage. For example, export-grade mangoes must meet specific criteria for minimum size, uniform colour, and absence of bruising or insect marks.

Chemical and laboratory analysis 🔗

For processed and semi-processed foods, laboratory testing is essential. Products like ghee, edible oils, spices, and honey are analysed for parameters including moisture content, acid value, presence of contaminants, and active ingredient levels. Samples are tested at accredited laboratories – in India, the AGMARK laboratory network and BIS-recognised labs perform this role.

The grade assigned to a product is based on how it performs against the defined parameters for each grade level. A product meeting all criteria for the highest grade receives a premium designation, while those meeting minimum standards are assigned a standard grade.

Challenges in food grading and certification 🔗

Despite the clear benefits, the food grading and certification system faces several challenges. Awareness remains low among many small-scale farmers and food businesses, particularly in rural areas. Many producers either don’t know about certification schemes or find the application process complex and time-consuming.

Enforcement is another concern. Counterfeit certification marks – particularly fake ISI marks – remain a persistent problem in India. Regulatory agencies continuously work to identify and penalise violators, but given the scale of India’s food market, complete enforcement is difficult.

For small and marginal farmers, the cost of compliance – including laboratory testing, infrastructure requirements, and documentation – can be a barrier. However, the price premium that certified products command in the market often offsets these costs over time.

There’s also the challenge of harmonising domestic standards with international ones. While India actively participates in Codex Alimentarius proceedings and aligns many of its standards with international benchmarks, gaps remain in certain product categories, which can create hurdles for exporters.

The way forward 🔗

Strengthening food grading and certification requires a multi-pronged approach. Increasing awareness through farmer training programmes, simplifying the certification process through digital platforms, expanding laboratory infrastructure in underserved regions, and stepping up enforcement against counterfeit marks are all essential steps.

India’s food safety ecosystem has made significant progress – from the century-old AGMARK framework to the modern, technology-driven FSSAI compliance system. As global food trade continues to grow and consumer expectations around safety and transparency rise, robust grading and certification will only become more important.

What do you think? How much attention do you pay to certification marks like AGMARK, ISI, or FSSAI when buying food products? Do you believe India’s current grading system does enough to protect the interests of both farmers and consumers, or is there room for improvement?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agmark
2. https://www.dmi.gov.in/GradesStandard.aspx
3. https://foodregulatory.fssai.gov.in/agmark-certification
4. https://www.bis.gov.in/product-certification/product-certification-overview/?lang=en
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Indian_Standards
6. https://fssai.gov.in/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Safety_and_Standards_Authority_of_India
8. https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/about-codex/en/
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alimentarius