Packaged food companies to seek clarity on FSSAI’s proposal on nutritional info in bigger, bolder fonts on labels

Packaged food industry will be seeking more clarity on the recent proposal of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which will make it mandatory to display information about total sugar, salt and saturated fat in bold and bigger font sizes on labels. This development comes at a time when public health activists have been urging FSSAI to bring in front-of-the-pack labelling norms.

FSSAI on Saturday said it will bring an amendment in the labelling and display regulations as part of its efforts to empower consumers to make healthier decisions. Under this proposed amendment, the information regarding per serve percentage contribution to recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) on labels of packaged food products would be given in “bold letters for total sugar, total saturated fat and sodium content,” the FSSAI stated. This information is usually displayed on the back-of-the-pack.

• Also read: Packaged food companies could shift to more transparency, healthier food options

Sources said that the FSSAI is likely to bring out a draft amendment in the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 within this month in this regard. Industry players and bodies said that they will evaluate the proposal and respond with suggestions once the draft amendment is out.

Harsh Gursahani, a food lawyer and partner at PLR Chambers, said, “The industry will be looking out for clarity on how this will be implemented. Lot of companies have substantial quantities of pre-printed packaging materials and sufficient time should be given for them to be able to comply with this amendment.”

Countries such as the US already have norms which make it mandatory for displaying nutritional facts in bigger and bolder fonts.

• Also read: Soon, total sugar, salt, fat info to be in bolder, bigger fonts on food labels: FSSAI

Better food choice

A Nestle India spokesperson said, “We are already providing nutritional information on the back of our product packs. We have also voluntarily included guideline daily amount (GDA) labelling on front of our product packs, that provides consumers with transparent nutrition information in the context of a reference portion for energy and other key defined nutrients in relation to their daily needs. As a compliant, company we will comply with the regulations.”

Meanwhile, industry experts said that FSSAI’s proposed norms will help consumers make better food choices. Rinka Banerjee, Founder, Thinking Forks Consulting and Former R&D Director of HUL said FSSAI’s move will increase awareness about the negative nutrients in a food product. “Highlighting added sugar in addition to total sugar would be even more meaningful. Most natural foods like milk, fruits and dry fruits, have naturally inherent sugars. So in certain products, total sugars alone might not present the correct nature of the food and hence highlighting added sugar in bold would make it even more meaningful,” she added.

However, others believe its time that the FSSAI finalises front-of-the-pack labelling norms. Arun Gupta, Convenor, National Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) on X said it is important that consumers are able to see nutritional information on the front-of-the-pack. He added that a consumer “has to pass through misleading ads and label lies” before he/she might think of reading the back of the label. NAPi has recently urged FSSAI to also take steps to curb misleading claims in ads made by food companies.