📚 Starter PackFood Manufacturing
Certification Starter Pack — Food Manufacturer
If you manufacture food in India, FSSAI is your legal baseline. Everything else depends on who you sell to. This page maps exactly which certifications apply to your business, in what order, and why.
FSSAI mandatory before any otherHACCP before ISO 22000 or BRCGSBuyer requirement drives the rest
Legal baseline
FSSAI licence
Before operations begin
Export buyers ask for
HACCP or ISO 22000
Sometimes BRCGS or FSSC 22000
Large retail asks for
ISO 22000 / BRCGS
Confirms full FSMS, not just HACCP
Quality management
ISO 9001
Often combined with ISO 22000
Your certification roadmap — in the right order
Start at Step 1. Each step builds on the previous. Trying to skip foundational steps delays everything that follows.
FSSAI licence★ Mandatory
Your legal operating licence. Basic Registration, State Licence, or Central Licence depending on turnover and scope. Cannot operate legally without it. Apply at foscos.fssai.gov.in.
Full guide ↗
HACCP plan★ Mandatory
The 7 Codex food safety principles applied to your specific process. Foundation for all food safety certifications. ISO 22000 and BRCGS both build on HACCP. Start here.
Full guide ↗
ISO 22000✓ Recommended
HACCP inside a full management system — adds PRPs, supplier management, internal audit. Required by major retail chains and hotel groups. Foundation for FSSC 22000.
Full guide ↗
BRCGS / FSSC 22000○ Optional
Required if specific buyers (UK supermarkets for BRCGS, multinational food manufacturers for FSSC 22000) ask for it. Confirm buyer requirement before pursuing.
Full guide ↗
ISO 9001○ Optional
Quality management system. Often integrated with ISO 22000 using Annex SL. Adds process consistency and audit trail beyond food safety scope.
Full guide ↗
ISO 14001○ Optional
Environmental management. Required by European buyers with sustainability criteria. Often pursued alongside ISO 9001 in a combined audit.
Full guide ↗
All certifications for food manufacturer
FSSAI Licence
★ Mandatory
Legal requirement for all commercial food businesses in India. Apply at foscos.fssai.gov.in.
Read the full guide ↗
HACCP
★ Mandatory
Foundation for all food safety certifications. 7 Codex principles applied to your process.
Read the full guide ↗
ISO 22000
✓ Recommended
HACCP within a full food safety management system. Required by major retail chains.
Read the full guide ↗
BRCGS Food Safety
○ Optional
Required by UK supermarkets and many global food buyers. Graded A-D.
Read the full guide ↗
FSSC 22000
○ Optional
ISO 22000 + sector TS + FSSC additions. Required by multinational food manufacturers.
Read the full guide ↗
ISO 14001
○ Optional
Environmental management. Required by European buyers with sustainability criteria.
Read the full guide ↗
GMP (Schedule M)
○ Optional
If you manufacture any product under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act — Ayurvedic supplements, nutraceuticals — Schedule M GMP applies.
Read the full guide ↗
Clicarity — Live Job Process Tracker & Bottleneck Identifier
Clicarity tracks your food production batches — and that tracking becomes your food safety records.
FSSAI requires batch records. HACCP requires CCP monitoring records. ISO 22000 requires supplier verification and traceability. In Clicarity, every production batch is a job that moves through stages — raw material receipt, processing, packing, despatch. Custom fields at each stage capture exactly what each standard requires: supplier FSSAI number at receipt, temperature at the CCP stage, batch code at labelling. When a batch splits into pack sizes or product variants, each is tracked independently and rejoins as one complete, traceable batch record.
Clicarity is a process tracking tool. It does not provide certification, consulting, or audit services.
Common questions from food manufacturers
Do I need FSSAI if I only sell in local markets?
Yes. FSSAI licence or registration is mandatory for all commercial food businesses in India regardless of market. Local, online, or export — all require it.
What food safety certification do export buyers ask for?
Most export buyers ask for HACCP as a minimum. European and US buyers increasingly ask for ISO 22000 or BRCGS. UK supermarkets specifically require BRCGS. Confirm with your specific buyer.
Do I need ISO 9001 if I already have ISO 22000?
Not mandatory — but beneficial. ISO 22000 covers food safety. ISO 9001 covers the broader quality management system. Both share Annex SL and can be certified together in a combined audit.
In what order should I pursue certifications?
FSSAI first (legal requirement). Then HACCP (food safety foundation). Then ISO 22000 if retail or export buyers ask for it. BRCGS or FSSC 22000 only when a specific buyer requires it.