NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling indicating whether packaged food products are high in sugar, saying the measure would help consumers make informed choices at the time of purchase.
The recommendation was made by the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, chaired by Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, in its report on packaged commodities, including the sugar content in baby food products.
The panel also called for stronger monitoring of sugar levels in infant food products, including infant formula, follow-up formula, cereal-based complementary foods and packaged traditional infant foods.
It recommended that infant and children's food packages clearly declare the amount of added sugar in grams per serving, along with its percentage contribution to the daily energy requirement of the target age group.
The committee noted that high sugar intake from packaged baby foods during early childhood is linked to several long-term health risks.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), published research has associated high sugar consumption in early childhood with increased risks of dental caries, obesity, metabolic dysfunction, changes in the gut microbiome and chronic diseases.
The committee also referred to the ICMR Dietary Guidelines, 2024, which recommend limiting sugar intake to 25 grams a day and, if possible, eliminating added sugar from the diet as it provides calories without nutritional value. It also cited the World Health Organisation's recommendation that free sugar intake should be reduced to less than 10% of total daily energy intake.
The report noted that the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, already require manufacturers to declare total sugar and added sugar content along with its percentage contribution to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), calculated on the basis of a 2,000-kcal diet and 50 grams of added sugar per day for an average adult.
However, the committee said numerical disclosure alone does not help consumers determine whether a product is high or low in sugar while making a purchase.
It, therefore, recommended a mandatory sugar-level classification framework under the Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling regime, based on scientifically defined thresholds aligned with World Health Organisation and ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition guidelines to enable immediate recognition by consumers.
The committee observed that sugar content varies across products depending on their formulation, but disclosure alone is insufficient to address public health concerns arising from high sugar consumption. It added that consumers often receive inconsistent information, limiting product comparison and informed decision-making.