Certification Schemes and Marks: A New Mandate for Quality Assurance of Food and Drugs
Abstract
Quality products are the demand of the day and the consumers have become more aware about their health and health related products. To develop a high degree of confidence about the safety and efficacy of medicines and food, specially packaged or processed food available in the market, various certifying agencies are involved. They issue quality “certificates”, “marks”, “logos” or “symbols to the product after evaluating certain quality parameters developed and validated by them. Presently, one can see many certification schemes existing for drugs like “Product Certification Scheme" by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), “Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification Scheme" by World Health Organization (WHO), “Premium Mark” and “Standard Mark" by Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy, and “Fruits Product Order (FPO) Mark” and “Organic certifications” for food products. This paper shall discuss various certification schemes and marks for food and drugs across the globe and their role in assuring quality.Keywords:
Organic certification, Halal, Standard Mark, Premium MarkReferences
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