FPO mark
| FPO mark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Expansion | Fruit products order |
| Certifying agency | Ministry of Food Processing Industries (India) |
| Effective region | India |
| Effective since | 1955 |
| Product category | Processed fruit products |
| Legal status | Mandatory |
| Mandatory since | 2006 |
The FPO mark is a certification mark mandatory on all processed fruit products sold in India such as packaged fruit beverages, fruit-jams, crushes and squashes, pickles, dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts, following the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.[1] The FPO mark guarantees that the product was manufactured in a hygienic 'food-safe' environment, thus ensuring that the product is fit for consumption.
The standards have been in force since 1955 by the law of Fruit Products Order, after which the mark is named,[2][3][4] but the mark itself got a mandatory status only after the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. An FPO license is, in fact, necessary to start a fruit processing industry in India.[5] The agency that develops standards for this purpose and that which issues the mark is the Ministry of Food Processing Industries of the Government of India.