The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has approved a proposal to display nutritional information about total sugar, salt and saturated fat in “bold letters” and “relatively increased font size” on labels of packaged food items, it said in a statement on Saturday. FSSAI said it will bring in an amendment in the labelling norms in this regard with an aim to enable consumers to make informed and healthier choices.
The information regarding per serve percentage contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) would be given in “bold letters for total sugar, total saturated fat and sodium content,” the FSSAI stated. “The amendment aims to empower consumers to better understand the nutritional value of the product they are consuming and make healthier decisions. The draft notification for the said amendment would now be put in the public domain for inviting suggestions and objections,” it added. Sources said that the draft amendment is expected to be released within this month.
The decision to approve the amendment in the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 regarding nutritional information labelling was taken in the 44th meeting of the Food Authority, which was held recently under the chairmanship of Apurva Chandra, Chairperson, FSSAI. Currently, provisions in FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulation, 2020 specify requirements to mention serving size and nutritional information on the food product label, respectively.
“Along with empowering consumers make healthier choices, the amendment would also contribute towards efforts to combat the rise of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and promote public health and well-being. The prioritisation of the development of clear and distinguishable labelling requirements would help in the global effort to combat NCDs,” the FSSAI noted.
In recent times, FSSAI has issued several advisories in recent times to prevent false and misleading claims. These include asking e-commerce websites for removal of the term ‘Health Drink’ as it is not defined or standardised anywhere under the FSS Act 2006. Another advisory was also released asking beverage companies to remove any claim of ‘100 per cent fruit juices’ from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juice.