Time to place safety labels on the front of food packaging: FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to mandate labelling on the front of food packets detailing the amount of salt, sugar and fat content and their respective impact on health.

The food industry wants the label to be a guideline informing the consumer about the quantity of salt, sugar, sodium and fats in the packet without giving an out and out health warning. This comes with an aim to enable consumers to make an informed decision and not discourage consumption of packaged food.

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The FSSAI will get a people's perception study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, on what kind of label people would like. After completion of the study, the final list of guidelines will be rolled out.

The authority took nearly eight years to reach this point, however, countries like Brazil and Chile already have front-of-package food safety labels. The FSSAI is considering four types of labels; traffic light indicators, health star ratings, nutrition scores and warning symbols.

Interestingly, the processed food business in India is estimated to be worth $44 billion and is increasing at a rate of 24% per year.

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