A grain or pulse processor exporting from India should hold, at minimum, an IEC (Importer Exporter Code), an FSSAI licence and the relevant export registration. Beyond that, most food manufacturers and retailers also expect a recognised food safety certificate.
Which extra certificates you need depends on your customers. A wholesaler may ask for very little. A retailer's private label supplier may need a full audited standard.
Legal registrations in India
These are the legal minimum. They show a business is allowed to trade, not that its plant is clean or its process controlled. For that you need a food safety certificate, an audit, or both.
- IEC: issued by DGFT and needed by any business that exports from India.
- FSSAI licence: needed by food businesses in India, including those that process and pack food for export. See what FSSAI is and whether it matters for export.
- APEDA registration (RCMC): APEDA covers many agri and processed food products, including cereals and pulses. Check that it applies to your product, as explained in what APEDA is and whether your supplier needs it.
- GST registration and factory or trade licences under state rules.
Food safety certificates buyers ask for
- HACCP: a hazard analysis system, often the base for other standards.
- ISO 22000: an international food safety management standard.
- FSSC 22000: built on ISO 22000 with extra requirements, and recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative.
- BRCGS Food Safety: widely requested by UK and some EU retailers.
- Other GFSI-recognised schemes, depending on your customer's policy.
Market and product certificates
- Organic: NPOP for India, and USDA NOP for the US. For the EU, confirm current recognition with your control body. See how to source organic millets and pulses.
- Kosher and halal: needed for some customers and markets. Check that the certifying body is one your customer accepts.
- Gluten-free: relevant for millets sold to gluten-free brands, usually backed by testing and segregation.
- Non-GMO declarations or certification, if your market or customer asks for them.
Checking certificates properly
A certificate only covers what is written on it. Check the legal name, the site address, the scope of products and processes, and the expiry date. Verify it on the certification body's own register where one exists.
A trader may show a processor's certificates as if they were its own. Make sure the name on the certificate matches the company that will process and ship your goods. Then visit the site, because a certificate does not replace an audit. An audit shows whether pest control, cleaning records, storage and traceability work in practice.
How we help
We verify each processor's registrations and certificates against the issuing body and audit the plant ourselves. You get the real factory name and copies of what we checked. Ask for a free sourcing review to shortlist certified processors.