Biscuits with diabetes-lowering properties, pasta that can cut your
heart disease risk, potato chips capable of reducing chances of stroke,
fruit jam that can keep cancers at bay, cookies that tackle osteoporosis
and a tea for pregnant women to ensure birth defect-free child.
Products with such wild health claims may flood Indian markets when labelling guidelines notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Food Safety Standards Act 2006 come into effect.
Instead
of cracking down on companies making tall health claims, the new
framework will not only legalise such assertions but will also let
companies make even bolder "disease risk reduction" claims, which,
experts say, is a step towards medicalisation of food.
Pseudo nutrition supplements which don't qualify to be called fully-fledged drugs hit markets as new-age foods. The list of diseases for which food companies will be allowed to make claims include coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, neural tube defects and dental caries.
The difference between "risk reduction" and "prevention" is too technical for consumers to be interpreted in the right way, say experts.
"Risk reduction, even if it is one per cent, can't be considered a false claim. People may not understand the true meaning because of widespread illiteracy," pointed out Dr Chandra M. Gulhati, editor of Monthly Index of Medical Specialties.
"Ideally, claims should not be disease-oriented since people will blindly go for them. Claims regarding heart disease could be contentious but may still be allowed. But those for cancers should not be permitted since a linear relationship between dietary fat intake and cancers has still not been conclusively proven," pointed out Dr Anoop Misra, director, centre of internal medicine at Fortis Hospital.
The criteria for making disease-related claims have been left vague and confusing. For instance, products making a disease related claim should not contain more than 6.8 grams of total fat per 'serving' for consumers in the age group of four-six years, 11g for seven-17 years and 11.6g for those above 18.
If a pack of chips is consumed by a family, then portions will have to
be distributed as per age group, just as we do with a cough syrup or
antibiotic.
All that food companies will have to do is produce "appropriate scientific research and clinical studies published in scientific journals".
But if such studies can't be produced, they can just cite "generally accepted authoritative statements" by expert bodies or even text book references.
Consumer rights activist Bejon Misra said the objective of food labels should be to clearly communicate the contents and not confuse consumers.
"There should be no room for misuse of labelling rules to masquerade drugs or supplements as food," he added.
Products with such wild health claims may flood Indian markets when labelling guidelines notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Food Safety Standards Act 2006 come into effect.
Pseudo nutrition supplements which don't qualify to be called fully-fledged drugs hit markets as new-age foods. The list of diseases for which food companies will be allowed to make claims include coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, neural tube defects and dental caries.
The difference between "risk reduction" and "prevention" is too technical for consumers to be interpreted in the right way, say experts.
"Risk reduction, even if it is one per cent, can't be considered a false claim. People may not understand the true meaning because of widespread illiteracy," pointed out Dr Chandra M. Gulhati, editor of Monthly Index of Medical Specialties.
"Ideally, claims should not be disease-oriented since people will blindly go for them. Claims regarding heart disease could be contentious but may still be allowed. But those for cancers should not be permitted since a linear relationship between dietary fat intake and cancers has still not been conclusively proven," pointed out Dr Anoop Misra, director, centre of internal medicine at Fortis Hospital.
The criteria for making disease-related claims have been left vague and confusing. For instance, products making a disease related claim should not contain more than 6.8 grams of total fat per 'serving' for consumers in the age group of four-six years, 11g for seven-17 years and 11.6g for those above 18.
All that food companies will have to do is produce "appropriate scientific research and clinical studies published in scientific journals".
But if such studies can't be produced, they can just cite "generally accepted authoritative statements" by expert bodies or even text book references.
Consumer rights activist Bejon Misra said the objective of food labels should be to clearly communicate the contents and not confuse consumers.
"There should be no room for misuse of labelling rules to masquerade drugs or supplements as food," he added.
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