Food laws and standards

By Professor M. K. Salooja | Indira Gandhi National Open University

Learners enrolled: 1839

The course has been designed to acquaint with the national and international food laws. The course is meant for all the stakeholders of the food chain i.e. producer, procurer, transporter, processor, distributor, retailer, exporter/importer and regulator. The country took a revolution in Food Safety and Quality with the new scientific based food laws and standards designated as Food Safety and Standard Act 2006 followed by its Rules and Regulations, 2011. The continuous improvement in enforcement and their harmonization with Codex standards have laid the foundations and templates for safe and hygienic food.

The course has four major components: Indian Food Regulatory Regime; Global Scenario; Export and Import Laws and Regulations and Other Laws and Standards Related to Foods.

The Indian Food Regulatory Regime covers the salient features of New Act Food safety and Standard Act, 2006 and its Regulations, 2011. The Global Scenario deals with international standards setting bodies like Codex Alimentarius Commission and WTO implications. The salient features related to Export and Import Laws and regulations; BIS and AGMARK are also covered.

The course is delivered through 40 video lessons in a span of about 12-16 weeks. Every week, learners will have to go through the video lessons. The video lessons are supported by the self learning material. In addition, a number of web links will be provided to support the study materials and to get the updated information. Self assessment questions will be provided after each lesson. Learners have to complete the assignments after going through major sections of study material.

The course on Food Laws and Standards will help in enhancing the competences in following areas:

Salient features of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and its Rules and Regulations.
Important features of Codex and its scientific principles and relevance to national standards.
Specify the requirements with respect to import/ export of food products.
Importance of AGMARK and BIS.
Ensure the safety and quality of food products as per mandatory legal requirements and voluntary standards including export regulations if required.

The course shall be useful to those who are working in the food processing industry and who wish to have specialization in the area of food safety and quality management.

Course Enrollment Start Date	02 – Dec – 2019
Course Enrollment End Date	8 – March – 2020
Exam Date:	Will be announced soon
Exam Slot:	Will be announced soon
Mode of Exam:	CBT (Computer Based Test)

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Core
Duration :	16 weeks
Category :	Agricultural and Food Engineering
Level :	Diploma
Start Date :	01 Jan 2020
End Date :	31 Aug 2020
Enrollment Ends :	08 Mar 2020
Exam Date :

Page Visits

Course layout

Food Laws and Standards: Layout
Introduction	1.	Food Science
	2.	Food Microbiology
	3.	Food Safety

Indian Food Regulatory Regime	4.	Erstwhile prevention of Food Adulteration Act and Rules
	5.	Erstwhile Essential Commodities Act
	6.	Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006
	7.	Food Safety Regulations and Rules: Sanitary and Hygienic requirements; Safety and Quality requirements for specific Products (Milk and Milk products/ Meat and Meat products); Packaging and Labelling
	8.	Food Safety and Quality Requirements: HACCP, ISO and BRC

Global Scenario	9.	Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC): Structure of Codex, Scientific Basis, Harmonization of National Standard with Codex
	10.	WTO Implications: SPS and TBT agreement
	11.	Other International Standard Setting Bodies: ISO, OIE, IPPC, AOAC, ASTM, EU and USFDA

Export and Import Laws and Regulations	12.	Foreign Trade Policy
	13.	Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963
	14.	Promotion Bodies
	15.	Plant and Animal Quarantine
	16.	Customs Act and Import Control Regulations

Other Laws and Standards Related to Foods	17.	Other Laws Related to Food Products
	18.	Voluntary National Standards: BIS and AGMARK
	19.	National Agencies for Implementation of International Food Laws and Standards
	20.	Food Labelling

Books and references

Course MVP-002: Food Laws and Standards of “PG Diploma in Food Safety and Quality Management” programme being offered by School of Agriculture, IGNOU.
Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Regulations 2011.
https://www.fssai.gov.in/home
Codex e-Learning Centre (http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/agns/capacity_elearning_codex_ en.asp)
Custom Act

Instructor bio

Professor M. K. Salooja

Indira Gandhi National Open University

Prof. M.K. Salooja, Professor & Director, School of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. Academic experience of more than 30 years in the disciplines of Dairy Technology, Food Safety and Quality Management and Vocational Education. A Dairy Technologist by profession from the National Dairy Research Institute and set to the teaching profession as Assistant Professor in the Dairy Science College, Udaipur. Diversified into educational planning and vocational education by serving as Senior Research Officer in the Planning Commission and Reader in the NCERT, respectively.

IGNOU’s experience in the open and distance learning is adding new vista to the academic profession. At present, the Programme Coordinator for the following IGNOU programmes:

1. Diploma in Dairy Technology

2. Diploma in Value Added Products from Fruits & Vegetables

3. Post Graduate Diploma in Food Safety & Quality Management

4. Ph.D. in Dairy Science & Technology

Awarded with Commonwealth Scholarship for Post doctorate at CSIRO, Australia and Jawaharlal Nehru Award of ICAR. Always willing to learn.

Contact details:

Office: 011-29572976

Email: mksalooja@ignou.ac.in