The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on 4th October 2021 has published the Pine nut Grading and Marking Rules, 2021 which shall apply to Pine nut obtained from Pinus pinea L., P. wallichiana and P. gerardiana intended for human consumption.
The Pine nut shall be packed in new clean paper bags or cloth bags or poly woven bags with inner lining of food grade material or any bio-degradable packaging materials or poly packs of food grade material or any other packaging material as approved by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser.
The packaging material shall be free from insect and fungal infestation and should not impart any toxic substance or undesirable odor or flavor to the product and it shall be packed in pack sizes either in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules or as allowed by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser under rule 11 of the General Grading and Marking Rules.
The grade designation mark shall consist of design ―AGMARK Insignia as set out in Schedule-I incorporating the certificate of authorisation number, the word “AGMARK”, name of the commodity and its grade.
The grade designation mark shall be securely affixed to or printed on each package in the manner approved by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser.
The authorized packer may after obtaining prior approval of the Agricultural Marketing Adviser or an officer authorised by him under rules 11 of the General Grading and Marking Rules mark his private trade mark or trade brand on the graded packages provided the same do not indicate quality other than that indicated by the grade designation mark affixed to the graded packages in accordance with these rules.
The premises of authorised packer shall be maintained in hygienic and sanitary conditions with proper ventilations and well lighted arrangement and the personnel engaged in these operations shall be in sound health and free from any infectious, contagious or communicable diseases.
Further, the authorized packer and the approved chemist shall observe all instructions regarding testing, grading, packing, marking, sealing and maintenance of records which may be issued by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser or an officer authorized by him in this behalf in accordance with the General Grading and Marking Rules from time to time.
