The Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), come into effect from July 1.

Share Market Live

NSE

With a slew of changes becoming applicable, the new regulations prescribe the requirements for labelling of pre-packaged foods and display of essential information at premises where food is manufactured, processed, served and stored.

As per the new regulations, FMCG companies are now mandated to disclose contents on the label of a packaged food in a “clear, unambiguous, prominent and readily legible manner” and in a way that any tampering with it will be evident. The regulations also require the labels on these pre-packaged foods to be in a way that they are not separated from the container.

The regulations also require companies to specifically declare the entire list of ingredients in descending order of their composition by weight or volume. FSSAI has also listed down ‘class titles’ for ingredients outlining how they need to be labelled. For instance, if the food contains edible vegetable oil, then the name of the specific oil like mustard, groundnut oil, etc. should be declared.

However, the declaration is mandatory only for ingredients that constitute 5 percent or more of the food. If lesser than 5 percent, the ingredients, “other than food additives that serve the technological function in the food products, need not be declared,” the regulations state.

Another major change coming into effect is that of Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) disclosures. In addition to the nutritional information per 100g and 100ml of the food, packs will have to declare how much that food contributes to the daily Recommended Dietary Allowance of an average adult.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance is calculated on the basis of 2000kcal energy, 67g total fat, 22g saturated fat, 2g trans-fat, 50g added sugar and 2000mg of sodium (5g salt) requirement for average adult per day.

The labels will now have to contain energy value (kcal), amount of protein, carbohydrate, total sugars, added sugars, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat (other than naturally occurring trans fat), cholesterol (mg) and sodium. Saturated fat and trans fat are to be given only if total fat content is more than 0.5 percent in final food. Similarly, cholesterol is also to be given only if total fat content is more than 0.5 percent.

Some foods exempted from mandatory nutritional labelling include raw agricultural minimally processed products such as wheat, rice, cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables and/or products that comprise a single ingredient, a herb, a spice or mixtures thereof, salt and salt substitutes, Table top sweeteners, coffee and chicory extracts, tea, flavourings, food additives, gelatin, yeast, chewing gums, alcoholic beverages, health supplements, among others.

The new regulations also make it mandatory to specifically declare ‘added sugars’ if there are any artificial sweeteners including what it is, quantity and any possible side-effects.

Not just packaged foods, restaurants will also now have to start mentioning the calorific value per serving and serving size against food items on menu cards. They will also have to display that “an average active adult requires 2,000 kcal energy per day, however, calorie needs may vary” prominently.

E-commerce operators like Swiggy and Zomato will also have to ensure the same is mentioned on menus on their apps. However, this applies only to restaurants & cloud kitchens that have 10 or more branches.

Several industry sources have said that nearly all FMCG companies are in compliance with the new regulations, which were originally intended to come into effect from October 1, 2021.

These regulations however do not include the 'Front of Pack' labelling, which is declaring fat, sugar and salt content upfront on the front of the pack. The idea, FSSAI has said is to curb the consumption of junk food.

FSSAI is currently working on incorporating this in the form of health star ratings (HSR), which would rank a packaged food product basis its salt, sugar and fat content. The rating will be printed on the front of the package.

However, deliberations with the industry on this are still ongoing.

First Published:Jul 1, 2022 5:14 PM IST