FSSAI likely to consider 'warning' stickers on front-of-pack labels

The food regulatory authority is likely to incorporate certain necessary changes such as warning labels along with the existing ratings system in the labelling draft regulations

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) may consider adding warning labels, along with its recommendations, to its existing proposed draft policy for front-of-pack labels (FoPL) before it submits the proposal to the government for its final approval. 

The move is likely to come, keeping in mind the health worries of the general public and repeated requests from stakeholders.

“Bearing in mind public health, FoPL should have a warning sticker, cautioning consumers about excess consumption of products,” said a source in the know. 

At present, the proposed labelling system for food packets has drawn a lot of criticism from the medical fraternity.

Experts believe it would mislead consumers about their nutritional value and prevent them from making a healthy choice.

Last year in September, after discussions with stakeholders, the food regulatory authority proposed an Indian Nutrition Rating for FoPL draft regulations.

Indian Nutrition Rating is a star rating system to rate the overall nutritional profile of packaged food and assign it a score from half a star to five stars.

The draft was open to public comment until November 19. FSSAI again invited fresh comments from doctors, public health experts, and consumer rights organisations to formulate the draft policy in a better way.

The existing draft policy has been formulated by FSSAI, based on a study by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Also, countries including the UK, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia have interpretative FoPL systems. 

FoPL systems include’ traffic light’ labelling, Nutri-Score, Guideline Daily Amounts, and Health Star Rating.

Public health experts disapproved of the policy and urged the food regulator to revise it as the educational component of a properly constructed warning system was missing in the health star system.

According to consumer research and surveys, warning labels have outperformed all other labels in helping consumers make healthy choices.

Studies by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), International Institute of Population Sciences, and other organisations found that consumers prefer clear warning labels indicating if the products are high in unhealthy ingredients, said one of the public health experts.

“Implementation of the FoPL nutrition rating system, along with a sound campaign, will give us a positive result in a few years, as has been observed in other countries,” said Arun Gupta, convener, National Advocacy in Public Interest.

The draft policy definition is very clear and scientific, according to what the World Health Organization normally would recommend. If one goes beyond the definition, it becomes contradictory, said Gupta. 

Experts observe FSSAI must ask companies to use the definition given in the draft policy in labelling their products.

“Warning labels work best to safeguard public health. They also result in immediate public health benefits. All the more reason why India, which accounts for 25 per cent of the global burden of heart disease, must go for the gold standard,” said Dr Pankaj Bharadwaj, professor of community medicine at AIIMS Jodhpur, and co-author of an observational study conducted in 2022.

All packaged food items or processed food will have the FoPL, including crisps, biscuits, namkeen, sweets and chocolates, meat nuggets, and cookies. However, milk and dairy products have been exempted in line with the FSSAI draft notified in 2019.

Various industry stakeholders were part of discussions that happened before the formulation of the draft regulations.

Food companies from the fast-moving consumer goods sector, including Dabur India, Nestlé India, Hindustan Unilever, and PepsiCo India, were part of the initial round of talks.

The formulation of draft regulations began in 2014 when FSSAI set up an expert committee after the high court’s order to prescribe a suitable format for FoPL.

Food for thought

• INR or Indian Nutrition Rating system rates the overall nutritional profile for packaged food and assigns it a rating from half a star to five stars 
• But experts feel INR would mislead consumers and fail them in making healthy choices
• According to consumer research and surveys, warning labels have outperformed  all other labels in helping consumers make healthy choices
• Packaged food items or processed food such as chips, biscuits, namkeen, sweets and chocolates, meat nuggets, and cookies  will have front of pack labelling