This document provides information about organic herbs and the certification processes required for their export. It discusses that organic herbs are preferable to non-organic herbs as they are grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. It then covers the key certification processes in India for organic herbs, including NPOP, APEDA, ISO 9000, Halal, FSSAI, and organic certifications. It notes that additional certifications may be required for exports, such as USDA Organic, JAS, Rainforest Alliance, and Fair Trade. The document provides an overview of the application and audit processes required to obtain these various quality, safety, and social compliance certifications for organic herbs.

1. PRESTIGE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
AND RESEARCH, INDORE
Total Quality Management &
Product Specific Certificate
Assignment I

2. Organic Herb
ORGANIC HERBS

3. INTRODUCTION
Organic herbs are preferable to non-organics because they are not
grown using chemical fertilizers or chemical pesticides. Chemicals can
leave residues on plant matter, and work their way into the plant's roots,
leaves, stems, flowers or bark, and this means that they can reach your
body if you were to ingest them. Instead, a healthier alternative is to
forgo the chemicals and stick with organic herbs. Organic herbs and
spices add zesty flavour to recipes, drunk as tea and several can also be
used for medicinal purposes. Organic herbs can also be purchased in
bulk and for wholesale prices. Organic herbs provide a tantalizing
alternative to herbs grown with chemicals. When people shop for herbs,
organic products are their first choice. No one wants to add harmful
chemicals to their diets or apply it in medications or cosmetics to their
bodies. This purity factor is why organic products are so popular. When
you can keep your shelves stocked with delicious and aromatic organic
herbs, you will attract discriminating shoppers who will recognize their
value and come back for more.

4. AREA
As on 31st March 2018, total area under
organic certification process (registered under
National Programme for Organic Production)
is 3.56 million Hectare (2017-18). This
includes 1.78 million ha (50%) cultivable area
and another 1.78 million Hectare (50%) for
wild harvest collection.
Among all the states, Madhya Pradesh has
covered largest area under organic certification
followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar
Pradesh.
During 2016, Sikkim has achieved a
remarkable distinction of converting its entire
cultivable land (more than 76000 ha) under
organic certification.
Major countries in which organic herbs are
exported: United states of America, Canada,
Japan, Germany, etc.

5. CURRENT SCENARIO
The export of herbs and value-
added extracts of medicinal herbs
are gradually increasing over the
years. India exported USD 330.18
Million worth of Herbs during
2017-18 with a growth rate of
14.22% over the previous year.
Also, the export of value-added
extracts of medicinal herbs / herbal
products during 2017-18 stood at
USD 456.12 Million recording a
growth rate of 12.23% over the
previous year.

6. Date HS Code Description
Destinatio
n
Port of
Loading
Unit
Quantit
y
Value
(INR)
Per Unit
(INR)
Oct212016 12119047
ORGANIC HERBS100%
ORGANIC SARSAPARILLA
ROOT(INDIAN VARIETAL) CUT
& SIFT
United
States
Bangalore
Air Cargo
KGS 30 11,548 385
Oct192016 12119099
INDIAN BLACK TEA & HERBS-
ORGANIC PSYLLIUM HUSK.
DTLS. AS PER INV. (WE
INTEND TO CLAIM REWARD
UND. MEIS.)
Canada
Kolkata Air
Cargo
KGS 100 44,250 443
Oct172015 12119099
ORGANIC HERBS100%
ORGANIC MANJISTHA
ROOTPOWDER(INDIAN
MADDER) (WE INTEND TO
CLAIM REWARDS UNDER
MEIS)
United
States
Bangalore
Air Cargo
KGS 100 44,968 450
Apr21201
5
12119099
100% ORGANIC MEDICINAL
HERBS & SPICES,100%
ORGANIC GUGGUL PURIFIED
INDIAN MYRRH HERB
POWDER
United
States
Bangalore KGS 100 610,101 6,101
Mar19201
3
12119070
INDIAN ORGANIC
HERBS(TULSI KRISHNA LEAF )
United
States
Kolkata Sea KGS 230 97,556 424
Mar19201
3
12119070
INDIAN ORGANIC HERBS(
TULSI VANA LEAF )
United
States
Kolkata Sea KGS 230 97,556 424
Report from year 2013-2016:

7. India’s share in the global export
of herbs & herbal products is low
due to the following reasons:
 Inadequate Agricultural practices.
 Inadequate Quality Control
procedure.
 Lack of large-scale Organic
Cultivation.
 Lack of Processing and R&D.
 Lack of Standardization in
Products, Processes and Services.
 Lack of regulatory framework in
trade of Medicinal Plants.

8. In order to promote India’s exports,
the Government has taken several
measures:
1. The mandate of export promotion of Herbs and Medicinal Plants
has been assigned to Shellac & Forest Products Export Promotion
Council (SHEFEXIL), headquartered at Kolkata. The export
promotion of several Herbal Products has been assigned to
Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (PHARMEXCIL),
besides others. These EPCs facilitate the exporting community and
undertake various export promotional measures for promotion of
export of their products.
2. Under Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme of the Department
of Commerce, the EPCs / Trade Bodies are provided financial
assistance for participation and organizing Trade Fairs, Buyer Seller
Meets (BSMs), Reverse Buyer Seller Meets (RBSMs), Research &
Product Development, Market Studies, etc

9. 3. ‘Niryat Bandhu Scheme’ has been
galvanised and repositioned to achieve the
objectives of ‘Skill India’ and trade
promotion/awareness.
4. The National Medicinal Plants Board
(NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH,
Government of India has launched a
“Voluntary Certification Scheme for
Medicinal Plants Produce (VCSMPP)” on
22nd November 2017 in order to encourage
the Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
and Good Field Collection Practices
(GFCPs) in medicinal plants. The
VCSMPP will enhance the availability of
the certified quality medicinal plants raw
material in the country and boost their
export and increase India’s share in the
global export of herbs.

10. ISO 9000
International Standards Organization
(ISO) 9000 is a set of international
standards on quality management and
quality assurance developed to help
companies effectively document the
quality system elements to be
implemented to maintain an efficient
quality system.
CERTIFICATIONS

11. These simple steps can prove to be an effective guide to obtaining
ISO 9000 registration:
• Get top management commitment
• Train personnel
• Prepare Quality Policy Manual
• Prepare Operating Procedures
• Hold internal audit
• Select registrar
• Go through registration process
• Obtain ISO 9000 registration

12. APEDA CERTIFICATE
The Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority
(APEDA) was established by the
Government of India under the
Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority
Act passed by the Parliament in
December 1985.

13. Registration Procedure with APEDA :
 Application form duly filled and signed by authorized signatory.
 Self certified copy of Import-Export code issued by D.G.F.T.
 List of Directors/Partners/Proprietor on company’s letterhead in triplicate.
 Pvt. Ltd./Public Ltd. Co.’s/societies should forward a copy of their
Memorandum and Article of Association and Partnership firms should forward
a copy of partnership deed attested by notary.
 Self certified copy of PAN issued by Income Tax Department.
 The company should compulsorily mention their e-mail ID, phone and fax
number etc. in their application.
 In case the exporter desires to register as Manufacturer Exporter, he should
furnish the copy of company’s registration with FFO, Directorate of Industries,
State Dept. of Horticulture/Agmark/EIA etc.
 Bank certificate duly signed by the Authorities.
 Cash or DD/Pay Order of Rs. 5000/- towards registration may be made in
favor of APEDA payable to Specific APEDA office where the request has been
made for Seeking RCMC.

14. HALAL CERTIFICATE
Halal food has been prepared according to Islamic law, and is free
from pork products, alcohol and certain other ingredients
Halal Certification Procedure
 Step 1: Application
The business wishing to obtain Halal Certification must apply to
one of the Certification Bodies. It is important for the business to
be aware of Halal Certification requirements at this stage and
ensure that it is compliant with Halal requirements, Halal systems
requirements and Halal staffing requirements.

15.  Step 2: Audit
 Once the application information is verified, Auditors (usually one
Shariah Auditor and one Technical Auditor) will visit the business for
inspection. The Auditors will verify if the following areas are acceptable
for Halal Certification:
 Documentation
 Processing, handling and product distribution
 Storage, display and product serving
 Cleanliness, sanitary and food safety
 The overall aspects of the premises
 Tools, apparatus and machines
 Packaging and labelling
 During the audit, the business might have to provide criteria of
acceptance of raw materials (ingredients), certificate of analysis and
Halal certificate of individual ingredient. Once, the audit is completed, an
audit report will be prepared and signed by both parties.

16.  Step 3: Certification
Once the Halal audit is complete, a Technical Committee will
review the documents submitted by the business and the audit
report submitted by the Auditors. If the audit report is satisfactory
and the business and/or products satisfy the Halal certification
criteria’s, then the Halal Certification Body issues the Halal
Certificate.
Halal Certification on average costs a total of about Rs.50,000 in
India. However, the fee varies amongst the Halal Certification
Bodies. Hence, it is best to check with the relevant Halal
Certification Body.

17. India Organic is a certification
mark for organically farmed
food products manufactured in
India. The certification
mark certifies that an organic
food product conforms to the
National Standards for Organic
Products established in 2000
Indian Organic Certificate

18. Process of Organic certification:
 Receipt of application by any accredited organic certification body
from farmer(s).
 The certification body provides standards and operational documents
to farmer(s).
 There is an agreement of roles and commitments between the farmer(s)
and the body.
 Demand of fees by accredited body.
 Document audit.
 Regular Field inspection by internal quality system manager and
external inspector and documentation of the same.
 Compliance verification through inspection and audits.
 Preparation of reports by the field inspector.
 Review of report by a reviewing body.
 Decisions on certification.

19. FDA REGISTERED
Firms exporting products from the
United States are often asked by
foreign customers or foreign
governments to supply a
“certificate” for products regulated
by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
A certificate is a document prepared
by FDA containing information
about a product’s regulatory or
marketing status.

20. FDA Registration process:
FDA registration is a mandatory requirement to place your products in
USA. US FDA Registration is given under US bio-terrorism act.
After registration you are allotted a registration number which is used by
US custom authority & other concerned authorities in USA to established
your genuine identity as a suppliers to USA.
US FDA registration is given in many categories. Most prominent
categories are : US FDA Registration for Food, US FDA Registration for
cosmetics, US FDA Registration for drugs, US FDA Registration for
medical devices.
Apart from these US FDA Registration can also be obtained for packaging
materials, utensils & some other product categories. CDG is industry
leader for 'US FDA Registration Services in India'. 'US Food Facility
Registration' is our expertise though we do provide US FDA registration
service in other product groups also. We may also service as authorized
agent for US FDA.

21. FSSAI CERTIFICATE
The FSSAI (Food Safety and
Standards Authority of India) has
been established under the Food
Safety and Standards Act, 2006
which is a consolidating statute
related to food safety and
regulation in India.

22. FSSAI online registration process in India:
 STEP 1 - Consulting, Documentation & Filing
 You fill in our online application. Our experts are at your call to help
with any query.
 Our experts do a consultation on the type of license needed
 We then collect the documents through email.
 We double check the paperwork.
 Form A and Form B are generated for the actual license process.
 We file it with the concerned authorities.
 STEP 2 - Follow up and waiting for Approval
 After the CS or CA has filed the application, we resolve any questions
that the authorities may ask.
 We facilitate the follow-up required by the food department.
 Then there will be a 20-day wait period during which the government
considers your application.

23.  STEP 3 - Delivery Of License
 Once approved, a digital and paper copy of the
license is sent to you on the given address.
 The procurement of the license takes a maximum
of 30 days.
 The waiting period mentioned here is for basic
license. For the other two licenses, the
government approval can take a maximum of 50
days.

24. QUALITY CERTIFICATION
REQUIRED IN OTHER COUNTRIES
In addition to NPOP certification, some companies have taken
National Organic Programme (NOP) certification for exports to
the US and Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) certification for
Japan, among others. Sometimes buyers prefer additional
certification such as Rainforest Alliance Certified, Fairtrade
certification, ethical trade certification, etc., which the companies
have taken. Some of the companies follow Germany trade
standards while others have British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK
certification.

25. Organic is a labelling term that indicates
that the food or other agricultural
product has been produced through
approved methods.
The organic standards describe the
specific requirements that must be
verified by a USDA-accredited
certifying agent before products can be
labelled United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) organic.
USDA ORGANIC

26. How to get registration under USDA organic?
 Certifiers are responsible for making sure that USDA organic
products meet all organic standards. There are five basic steps to
organic certification:
 The farm or business adopts organic practices, selects a USDA-
accredited certifying agent, and applies and fees to the certifying
agent.
 The certifying agent reviews the application to verify that practices
comply with USDA organic regulations.
 An inspector conducts an on-site inspection of the applicant’s
operation.
 The certifying agent reviews the application and the inspector’s
report to determine if the applicant complies with the USDA
organic regulations.
 The certifying agent issues organic certificate.

27. NOP
The National Organic Program (NOP) is
the federal regulatory framework in the
United States of America governing
organic food. It is also the name of the
United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) program responsible for
administering and enforcing the
regulatory framework. The core mission
of the NOP is to protect the integrity of
the USDA organic seal. The seal is used
for products adhering to USDA standards
that contain at least 95% organic
ingredients.

28. JAS
Japanese Agricultural Standard for organic plants and organic processed foods
of plant origin were established in 2000 on the basis with the Guidelines for the
Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods
which were adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The organic JAS system has been further developed with the addition of the JAS
Standards for organic livestock products, organic processed foods of animal origin
and organic feeds which took effect in November 2005.
Certification process:
 Certification Scheme
 List of Registered Certifying Bodies (domestic &
overseas)
 Import of Products with JAS Marks.
 Outline of required formalities for application as
Registered Overseas Certifying Body under the JAS

29. RAC
Rainforest Alliance Certified (RAC) farm
is one that complies with 10 standards set
in place by the Sustainable Agriculture
Network (SAN). These standards include
ecosystem conservation, wildlife
protection, and fair treatment and good
working conditions for workers.
Certification process:
 Prepare for your farm's certification audit
 Find an authorized rainforest alliance certification body
 Host your farm edit
 Sell your rainforest alliance certified crop

30. Fair Trade Certificate
A fair-trade certification is a
product certification within the
market-based movement fair trade.
The most widely used fair trade
certification is FLO International's,
the International Fairtrade
Certification Mark, used in Europe,
Africa, Asia, Australia and New
Zealand. Fair trade certified mark
is the North American equivalent of
the International Fairtrade
Certification Mark.

31. There are four main steps to get fair trade certified with Fair trade America.
 Business Assessment : It starts by getting in touch. We want to understand your
business better, your specific needs and how we can best help. We’ll cover
things like your sustainability goals, your flavor profiles and preferred supply
chains.
 Application : With a better understanding of what you need, you’ll submit a
simple application. Generally, we’ll determine at this stage if it’s best to certify
your existing supply chain or to tap into a chain that’s already certified. If
appropriate, you’ll work with FLOCERT, our auditing body, to get a
“Permission to Trade” once you’ve met the relevant criteria.
 Contract approval : With an intent to label your products with the Fairtrade
Mark, you’ll sign a licensing contract with us. This means you are fully vetted
and can start to work on getting some Fairtrade products ready.
 Submit Applications for each product : Fairtrade is a product-specific
certification. That means, we need to make sure individual products fit the bill.
Included in this is an understanding of the recipe/makeup of each product, the
packaging design and any additional claims. This will be uploaded on the online
portal.

32. ETI
Ethical trade certification means that
retailers, brands and suppliers take
responsibility for improving the
working conditions of people who make
the products they sell. The ETI's
standards are divided into two parts: the
ETI Base Code and the Principles of
Implementation. The ETI Base Code
focuses on labor practices, reflecting the
most relevant international standards.
There are 4 policies of ETI procedure:
 Conflicts of interest policy
 ETI environmental strategy
 Board of director conflicts interest policy
 Bribery and corruption policy

33. BRC
British Retail Consortium (BRC) is an international Food Safety
Management Systems standard and is one of the GFSI recognized
certification schemes. It contains requirements for food processors
to follow to build an effective food safety management system.
Over 16,000 facilities worldwide are certified to the BRC Global
Standard for Food Safety.
Procedure:
 1-Recognition process
 2-Certification agreement
 3-Use of BSI certification mark
 4-Use of BRC logo
 5-Standard owner information
 6-Complains and appeals

34. AWARDS IN THIS FEILD
 WOMEN ACHIEVER AWARD 2019
 DIRECT FARMER LINKAGE AWARD 2019
 India SME 100 Award 2019
 Organic India Excellence Award 2018
 All India Agri Start-ups Convention 2018
 Best organic Food Producer Company 2017
 Best Quality Mark Award 2017
 Ayush Kamal Bhushan Swadeshi National Award 2017
 Emerging Organic Company by ASSOCHAM 2016
 Best Quality Mark Award 2016
 Best Quality Mark Award 2015
 Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Award 2014
 Indian Industrial Excellence Award 2013
 Bronze Partner Award - Organic Biofach Fair 2012