India’s food regulator has proposed front-of-pack warning labels on packaged food and drinks, reversing its position following growing public anger about a lack of strict labels to highlight high sugar, fat or salt in items.
Activists and the Supreme Court have repeatedly called for them, citing problems like obesity. The move is a major setback for food companies in India’s over $100 billion market where Coca-Cola and industry groups representing Nestle and PepsiCo have long opposed such labels, saying they are confusing. Because they would not prevent consumers from otherwise having sugary and salty foods, she added that warning labels were pointless.
Indian doctors had done a good job teaching their patients what food should be avoided, she said. The FSSAI buckled, telling the Supreme Court in August that it was “difficult” to match international standards on packaging, echoing the industry position. The court had earlier said India can consider Israel-style labelling, where a red label is applied even if one among salt, sugar or fat is high. The FSSAI’s Friday filing said the labelling will be implemented in phases to give industry time, and single-ingredient food products will be exempted.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has proposed a red-coloured hexagonal shape for food products which are high in any two or more nutrients – saturated fat, sugar or salt – it said in a Supreme Court filing on Friday, seen by Reuters.
Currently, producers are required only to list ingredients and basic nutritional information on the back of packaging.
The mechanism will “facilitate informed food choices, particularly in relation to children and other vulnerable groups of the population,” it added.
