The draft regulations will soon be released for public comments, Kumar Anil, adviser to FSSAI, said at Centre for Science and Environment’s ‘National Conclave on Food’ on Friday. While the advertising regulations will come into effect on July 1, the packaging norms were implemented recently.
At the session on ‘Regulating bad foods’, large gaps were identified, including in labelling and companies’ claims comparing the nutrient value of their food items to that of healthy products without substantial evidence. Anil said that the new advertising and claim regulations would keep a tab on the problem.
“We are trying to address claims like pure, real, natural and sugar-free and the new advertising regulations comprehensively cover this. There are parameters for comparison and if you are meeting these parameters, only then you can make a claim. This will be implemented from July 1 to ensure that people are not deceived by any wrong claim,” said Anil.
He added the new labelling regulations would mark all packaged food items, including the ultra-processed ones, with the ‘red’ mark if they fail to meet the specified standards. Citing examples of sugar and trans fat, Anil said 100gm or 100ml of each item would be taken as the basis with 10% of the total energy coming from sugar warranting a ‘red’ label of high sugar, while 1% of the total energy from trans fat would be taken as beyond the permissible limit.
The draft has taken examples from abroad as well, including Chile that has seen an improvement in eating habits after large warning labels were introduced on the front of all food packets.
“The draft should help iron out some of the problems and it appears to be strong at this stage. The issue of HFSS regulation has been a long-standing problem and the gaps identified by different groups should help increase consumer awareness, allowing people to make better decisions,” said Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment.
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