Label it right

“We can consider brown labelling on cola drinks,” says Dr B Sesikeran, chairperson of the labelling and claims advertisement panel of The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in an email interview to Radhika Sachdev

There are market reports that fast-food chains McDonald’s and KFC, and packaged food brands like Lay’s chips and Maggi noodles reported normal sales after The Centre for Science and Environment come out with another damning study against these brands last month. What does this indicate? Consumer indifference, a saturation point in brand penetration? How would you react to the study findings?
Any food that has high level of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) and trans fatty acids (TFA), salt or sugar as well as high total fat is undesirable whether branded or not.

The FSSAI is working on a new set of labelling and packaging norms that have been put in public domain for comments and feedback. However manufacturers and marketers have always been able to exploit the grey areas and regulation that lag one step behind industry practices. How can this problem be tackled?
It can be tackled by educating the consumer, which is what we do.

One section of experts feel that food and safety laws in our country are fool-proof. What is lacking is enforcement. Do the new laws have stringent, penal clauses for non-compliance?
The FSSAI is implementing the new regulation very actively; the punishment for non-compliance is covered in the FSSAI 2006 Act.

Under a California state law, drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens are required to bear a cancer warning — caramel colour on their labels, thus putting pressure on the cola companies to change their chemical formula to avoid the cancer labelling. Is such a measure feasible in India, where cola companies are still a growing category?
The FSSAI can have a consultation with the industry and decide upon mutually acceptable way to address this problem.

Has any food manufacturer ever been convicted in India for misleading, non-scientific labelling? At worst, they are directed to pull out the ad. Without a precedent of class action suits and convictions, will the new labelling norms work in this country?
I don’t think any food manufacturer has been convicted but FSSAI does view false claims seriously and do take appropriate step against the Food Business Operator.

There are examples galore of such exaggerated claims — candy is promoted as fat-free, but no one bothers to inform the consumer that it’s also loaded with empty calories in the form of sugar. Breakfast cereal may promise the goodness of wholegrain, fibre and other nutrients, but they could be potentially dangerous for diabetic with their high level of sugar, fructose and corn syrup. What can be done to increase consumer awareness about these new categories of products?
Information, education and communication strategies can help. However, all that is packaged need not be viewed suspiciously.

Last but not least, how can labelling be simplified for the lay consumer? Most of the text is in English and almost none is medical jargon-free. The font size, the colour of the text also needs to be complied with. If not, where should the consumer complaint? Is there a single touch point with FSSAI’s complaint redressal window?
FSSAI has a scientific panel for Food Labelling and they discuss these points. Complaints can be addressed to CP, FSSAI or CEO, FSSAI. One can also complain to the State Food Commissioner.

CAIT organises national traders' meet; FSSA, FDI in retail discussed

The two-day national convention of trade leaders, organised by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), commenced on May 10, 2012 in New Delhi. According to Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, CAIT, “A nationwide campaign was launched to address issues pertaining to the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006; foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail; single-point goods and service tax (GST) in India and delivery-based trading in forward exchanges.” An eleven-member national committee was formed to conduct the campaign.

Those who attended the conference also agreed to start a signature campaign to tackle the aforementioned issues. Once a sizeable number of signatures are collected from all over the country, the same will be submitted to the prime minister. Memorandums will also be submitted to members of local self-governments; Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and chief ministers (CMs) at the state level and the senior leaders of every political party.

“We demanded that retail trade in India should become a topic of priority for the Centre and the state governments. Over 5 crore trading establishments are conducting their business activities in the retail industry, and more than 22 crore people earn their livelihood from it,” Khandelwal told, adding the trade leaders expressed their unhappiness about the neglect of the retail sector by the governments.

CAIT challenged the merits of the FSSA and its rules and were dismayed about the provisions stipulating that such entities as places of worship (such as temples and gurudwaras); transporters; warehouse-keepers; landlords and people delivering food and other items by distribution vehicles must also obtain licences.

“We have sought necessary clarifications from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in this regard, and drew the government's attention towards the turnover limit of Rs 12 lakh for the cottage and small industries, which contravenes the definition of cottage and small industries under the Small-scale Industries (SSI) Act,” stated Khandelwal, adding that a number of provisions of the Rules and Regulations supersede those of the Act, which is a legal infirmity. CAIT stressed on the need for a careful study and reconsideration of these.

Misbranded food products flood markets in Indore

INDORE: The problem of misbranding is on the rise in the city, especially when it comes to food products. For starters, misbranding means wrong packing number and dates on the product. This problem is as dangerous in nature as the adulteration was.

Out of a total of 80 samples of various products as collected by the food department based on complaints since the coming into force of the food safety Act, 2006, nearly half of them were found to be misbranded.
The manufacturers normally involve themselves in such illegal acts to cheat the customers so as to keep their cash register ringing, say experts. First, by not mentioning the batch number and date of manufacturing of the product, they can simply keep selling the product even beyond the expiry date, add they.
Talking to ToI, Manish Swamy, food safety officer, said that we have started working according to the provision of the new Food Safety Act. Forget adulteration, the misbranding of the products by the manufacturers has become a big problem in the city, said Swamy. It is why we have issued only 130 fresh licences as against 1000 applications received by us from the prospective food traders, said he.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Madhya Pradesh Food Product Manufacturers and Sellers Association is planning to call on the opposition party parliamentarians in New Delhi shortly to urge them to raise voice against the Food safety Act in Parliament. It was confirmed by the president of the federation, Ramesh Khandelwal.
The federation has already sent its suggestions on the act to the food authority of India for its perusal. Still, Khandelwal made it clear that the Federation was also against the menaces like adulteration and misbranding in the food products.

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