NEW DELHI: A new food labelling system based on a ‘star rating’ proposed by FSSAI has left health experts worried – who believe that it will fall short of fulfilling its key function. Front-of-package warning labels are gaining traction across the world as a strategy to improve public health as it helps consumers to identify ingredients quicker and clearer.
These include products high in sugar, sodium, saturated fats, trans fats and total fats, and critical nutrients associated with the spiralling burden of non-communicable diseases.
A similar regimen is being implemented in India, however, with a twist. Termed ‘Indian Nutrition Rating’ (INR), the recently published draft regulation for a front-of-pack nutrition label is based on a ‘star rating’ system, which is seen as the least effective in achieving health benefits.
Leading doctors of India, including paediatricians, endocrinologists and cardiologists from institutes of national importance, have urged that clear warnings on the front of food and beverage packets should be a priority for India if it were to avert a catastrophic public health crisis.
According to them, the consumption of packaged and ultra-processed foods and beverages has increased across India, regardless of income level or rural-urban settings, which is resulting in leading to a rise in diabetes and cardiovascular disease burden.
According to Prof Umesh Kapil, President, of the Epidemiological Foundation of India, FSSAI’s proposed India Nutrition Rating, is unlikely to serve its purpose. “We are consuming dangerous quantities of packaged foods that are processed with high levels of added sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and refined carbohydrates – all of which are directly linked to a higher risk of diabetes, liver and kidney damage, heart disease and cancers,” he said.
“The true purpose of a front-of-pack label is to give clear and unambiguous information about the health value of a food product, that helps people make the right choice. The stars are assigned by a complex scoring system, that values positive factors such as added nuts even if the food product has a high content of sugar or saturated fat,” explained Dr Kapil.