New Delhi: Indian shoppers are about to get a clearer window into what they’re putting on their dinner tables. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is proposing stricter labelling requirements for packaged foods, with the goal of giving people the tools they need to make informed choices about what they eat.
These proposed revisions, greenlit during the 44th meeting of the FSSAI, will require manufacturers to prominently display the content of total sugar, salt, and saturated fat in bold, easy-to-read fonts directly on their packaging. This will elevate these key indicators to the top billing, allowing consumers to instantly grasp the sugar, salt, and fat content of a product without any hunting.
“We’ve approved a proposal to give greater prominence to nutritional information related to total sugar, salt, and saturated fat,” the FSSAI announced in a statement. “This will be done by displaying this information in bold and larger fonts on the labels of packaged food items.” This initiative aligns with the authority’s ongoing mission to champion transparency in food labelling and equip consumers with the knowledge they need to make informed dietary decisions.
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But there’s more to the story than just quick identification. The revised regulations will also require packaging to highlight the percentage contribution of total sugar, total saturated fat, and sodium content to the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) per serving. This will equip consumers with a clearer understanding of how much of their daily recommended intake of these elements they’re consuming in a single serving.
These amendments are consistent with existing regulations (Regulation 2 (v) and 5(3) of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulation, 2020) that specify detailed requirements for serving size and nutritional information on food labels.
The FSSAI will soon release a draft notification outlining these proposed changes and will solicit feedback from stakeholders before finalizing the regulations. This collaborative approach ensures that the final guidelines are comprehensive and effectively address the needs of both consumers and the food industry.
The proposed stricter labelling standards represent a significant step forward in promoting public health awareness and empowering Indian consumers to make informed dietary choices. By making crucial nutritional information clear and accessible, the FSSAI is helping people take control of their well-being and make healthier choices for themselves and their families.
