What Does FSSAI Certification Mean?

What it actually means

• FSSAI, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, issues licences confirming a food business meets basic safety and hygiene requirements.
• Every legitimate food business needs an FSSAI licence or registration, regardless of whether it sells organic products or not.
• It is not an organic certification and does not, on its own, say anything about how a product was farmed.
• An FSSAI number and an organic certificate number are two separate things, often both printed on the same organic product's packaging.
• Its presence confirms baseline food safety compliance, a separate and equally important consideration alongside any organic claim.

Our standards

FSSAI certification questions

Does an FSSAI number mean a product is organic?

No, FSSAI licensing is a general food safety requirement, unrelated to whether a product is organic.

Is FSSAI licensing mandatory?

Yes, essentially every legitimate food business operating in India needs an FSSAI licence or registration.

Can a product have an FSSAI number but no organic certificate?

Yes, this is the norm for conventional food products, which still need FSSAI compliance despite not being organic.

Where can I check an FSSAI number?

FSSAI provides a way to verify licence numbers, which is worth doing if a claim seems questionable.