FSSAI's new star rating system for packaged food faces a revolt

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chief executive officer Arun Singhal told ET that the regulator plans to go ahead with a new star rating system for packaged foods and beverages, instead of telling companies to use warning labels on the basis of ingredients. The move has been opposed by close to a dozen consumer and health advocacy groups, which argue that the measure won't help shoppers looking to eat healthy.

Consumer Voice, Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi), Civic Action Group (CAG), People's Vigilance Committee (PVC), Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) are among those that have written to the health ministry and in some cases the Prime Minister's Office over the past four-five weeks, opposing the FSSAI move. The People's Vigilance Committee, in an April 8 letter addressed to the health ministry, stated that nutrition warnings on food packs are an "urgently required intervention" to protect public health.

The organisations say in their letters, copies of which ET has accessed, that star ratings will dilute warnings on high sugar, salt and saturated fats that exceed threshold limits. They called for direct warning labels on packs.

Singhal, however, told ET: "The IIM-A has recommended health star ratings after a survey on over 20,000 Indian consumers. We will go by what consumers have preferred."

The regulator had mandated the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, to conduct a detailed report on front-of-pack labelling for packaged and processed foods in the middle of last year, the first time an external entity was roped in for the purpose.

'Rating Model Misleading'
Consumer Voice chief executive Ashim Sanyal said: "How does FSSAI expect consumers to figure out what the ratings even mean? What is needed is upfront labels of the foods being high in sugar or salt. Internationally too, the ratings system has failed to rein in consumption of junk foods."

The FSSAI is set to release the draft regulations shortly, followed by the final guidelines. The rules have been at the consultation stage for seven years. The upcoming move will directly impact makers of packaged foods and beverages such as Nestle, PepsiCo, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Britannia.

Sanyal alleged that the FSSAI's move is in the "interests of large foods companies, not consumers". CUTS International and CSE noted that the star rating model is misleading since warnings about excess unhealthy ingredients would be overshadowed by healthier nutrients in the algorithm used to calculate the rating.

In February this year, a study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had stated that consumers prefer direct warnings as the most effective type of labelling to warn them about excess salt, sugar and fats in packaged processed foods. They are ready to make healthier food choices on the basis of clear, front-of-pack labels instead of star ratings, which would be difficult to understand, according to the study.

Processed and packaged food companies have conveyed their reluctance to implement such front-of-pack labelling, since it would directly impact consumption, said people with knowledge of the matter.

According to existing guidelines, some amount of back-of-pack ingredient labelling is mandatory, including symbols to signify red for non-vegetarian and green for vegetarian.

Chile and Brazil are among the countries that have adopted 'high-in' warning labels upfront on their food packs, which has succeeded in reducing consumption of unhealthy ultra-processed foods and beverages, experts said.