Meaning of Various Terms i.e. Guarantee, Warranty, Green Mark, Brown Mark, BIS, Hall Marking, ISI, FPO, AGMARK and ISO

Guarantee

A promise by one party to pay a debt or perform an obligation contracted by another if the original party fails to pay or perform according to a contract.

Warranty

A promise, either written or implied, that the material and workmanship of a product are without defect or will meet a specified level of performance over a specified period of time. Written warranties on new homes are either backed by insurance companies or by the builders.

Green Mark   

Every package of Vegetarian Food shall bear the symbol in green colour on the principal display just close in proximity to name or brand name of the Food

Brown Mark  

Every package of Non-Vegetarian Food shall bear the following symbol on the principal display panel just close in proximity to the name of brand name of food 

BIS  

The Bureau of Indian Standards, empowered through a legislative Act of the Indian Parliament, known as the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, operates a product certification scheme, and has till date granted more than 30 000 licences to manufacturers covering practically every industrial discipline from Agriculture to Textiles to Electronics. The certification allows the licensees to use the popular ISI Mark, which has become synonymous with Quality products for the Indian and neighbouring markets over the past more than 40 years. The Bureau's predecessor, the Indian Standards Institution began operating the product certification Scheme in 1955. Presently more than 17000 licences are in operation covering about 1100 products. 

HALLMARKING

Hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal in gold. Hallmarks are thus official marks used in many countries as a guarantee of purity or fineness of gold jewellery.

ISI

The product certification scheme is basically voluntary and aims at providing quality, safety and dependability to the ultimate customer. Presence of certification mark known as Standard Mark on a product is an assurance of conformity to the specifications. The conformity is ensured by regular surveillance of the licensee's performance by surprise inspections and testing of samples, drawn both from the factory and the market.

FPO  

FPO- Fruit Products Order - 1955, promulgated under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act - 1955, aims at regulating sanitary and hygienic conditions in manufacture of fruit, vegetable products. It is mandatory for all manufacturers of fruit & vegetable products to obtain license under this Order to ensure good quality products, manufactured under hygienic conditions. The Fruit Product Order lays down the minimum requirements for:

1. Sanitary and hygienic conditions of premises, surroundings and personnel.

2. Water to be used for processing.

3. Machinery and equipment.

4. Product standards.

Besides this, maximum limits of preservatives, additives and contaminants have also been specified for various products 

AGMARK

AGMARK-Quality standards for agricultural commodities are framed based on their intrinsic quality. Food safety factors are being incorporated in the standards to complete in World trade. Standards are being harmonised with international standards keeping in view th WTO requirements. Certification of agricultural commodities is carried out for the benefit of producer/manufacturer and consumer. Certification of adulteration prone commodities viz. Butter, Ghee, Vegetable Oils, Ground-Spices, Honey, Wheat Atta etc. is very popular. Blended Edible Vegetable Oils and Fat Spread are compulsorily required to be certified under Agmark.

Facilities for testing and grading of Cotton for the benefit of cotton growers is provided through six cotton classing centres set up in cotton growing belt in the country.

During the year 1999-2000, agricultural commodities worth Rs.429767 lakhs were graded and marked under AGMARK. Check is kept on the quality of certified products through 23 laboratories and 43 offices spread all over the country.

ISO  

ISO-International Organization for Standardization-When the large majority of products or services in a particular business or industry sector conform to International Standards, a state of industry-wide standardization can be said to exist. This is achieved through consensus agreements between national delegations representing all the economic stakeholders concerned - suppliers, users, government regulators and other interest groups, such as consumers. They agree on specifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the classification of materials, in the manufacture and supply of products, in testing and analysis, in terminology and in the provision of services. In this way, International Standards provide a reference framework, or a common technological language, between suppliers and their customers - which facilitates trade and the transfer of technology