Food packs to have info on salt, sugar and fat per serving

Packaged food companies will have to display the quantity of sodium, sugar and fat present in each serving size of their product on its packaging starting from November, the chief executive of India’s food regulator told ET.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is implementing new regulations on packaging in phases and this is part of it.

While it is mandatory for companies to disclose the salt, sodium and fat content of their products, the new regulation will make it compulsory for them to mention intake of these ingredients per serving size.

FSSAI is also working on introducing front-of-the-pack labelling regulations, which will aim to simplify the labels on food packaging by putting a pictorial representation on the front face of the packet.

“Consumers should be aware of the food that they are consuming and that we ensure through labelling,” said Arun Singhal, CEO of FSSAI. “From November onwards, disclosures about (sodium, sugar and fat) per serving will be mandatory.”

A task force formed by the food regulator has had several meetings with various stakeholders who have been resisting the move to display the quantity of sodium, sugar and fat in each serving size.

In 2019, FSSAI had proposed in its draft regulations traffic light labelling for packaged food items based on their fat, sugar and salt content--red for unhealthy, amber for moderately healthy, and green for healthy products.