FSSAI proposes single-phase food warning labels, gives industry one-year transition time

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has toughened its stance on proposed warning labels for packaged foods even as it proposed to adopt a single-phase approach for the implementation of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FoPL). For the purpose of issuing and finalizing the draft regulations, a period of approximately four months would reasonably be required in order to follow the regulatory process, it said.

However, FSSAI told the Supreme Court that Food Business Operators (FBOs) will be given a year to comply with upfront labelling on packaged foods to specify products high in added fat, added sugar and salt, as well as specified sweetened beverages, to avoid any "commercial hardships."

"This time period has been provided in order to avoid any commercial hardships to the FBOs as they have pre-packaged material already printed in bulk," it said, adding that the intention of the FSS Act is also to take into consideration that any measure not be restrictive of trade, a stand that is also based on the recommendations of High-Level Committee of NITI Aayog to reform on timeline for labelling compliance.


The food authority said that in its 48th meeting, as a matter of policy, it was decided that for amendments relating to the FSS (Labelling & Display) Regulations, as well as any changes in labelling requirements specified in other food safety & standards regulations shall come into force on July 1 subject to a minimum transition period of 365 days from the date of notification.

Proposing to adopt a single-phase approach for the implementation of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FoPL), FSSAI in its 20-page compliance affidavit proposed a red Hexagon with white square shaped background FoPL format, drawing similarity, more or less, with the FoPL format adopted by Canada. Furthermore, where only one nutrient of concern is present, the corresponding nutrient shall be indicated inside the hexagon. However, where more than one nutrient of concern exceeds the prescribed threshold, the same shall be indicated within a single hexagon, thereby providing clear and specific information to consumers, it stated. Food products high in any one of the nutrient of concern will also be covered in addition to food products high in 'two or more' nutrients-of-concern.

It also proposed to adopt the threshold values for added sugar, added fat (used for cooking) and salt per 100 g/ml issued by ICMR-NIN, for the purpose of FOPL. It is also contemplating an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, thereby placing the warning label 'CONTAINS NON CALORIC SWEETENER' on the front of pack, which at present same is mentioned on the back of the pack.

The regulator has proposed to adopt the threshold values for added sugar, added fat and salt per 100 gram/milliliter for the purpose of front-of-pack labelling. For instance, if a freshly prepared lemon juice contains added sugar or salt above the threshold values of more than 2 gram of added sugar or 175 milligram of salt per 100 milliliters, it would be considered high in the respective nutrient and would attract the applicable warning, irrespective of its level of processing, said the regulator.

Similarly, in the case of a packaged food such as chips, if the added fat and salt exceeds the prescribed thresholds of 4.2 gram and 625 milligram per 100 gram, respectively, the product would attract the applicable warning, irrespective of its categorization based on the level of processing, it said.

It also said that products high in salt, sugar or ‌fat would carry red warning symbols even if only one of those ingredients exceeded limits. Threshold for sugar has been calculated at 5% energy from added sugar, and not exceeding 10% energy from total sugar.

Threshold for fat has been calculated at 15% energy from added fat, and not exceeding 30% energy from total fat.

For liquid foods/ Beverages, threshold for sugar has been calculated at 10% energy from added sugar, and not exceeding 30% energy from total sugar (including naturally present sugar in fruit juices/milk, etc). Threshold for fat has been calculated at 15% energy from added fat, and not exceeding 30% energy from total fat. it added.

The food safety regulator said that classifying a food as high in sugar without differentiating between naturally occurring sugars, such as those in fruits and milk, and added sugars, such as table sugar or syrup added during processing, has limitations because not all sugars are equal in terms of health impact. Furthermore, naturally occurring sugars in whole foods like fruits and dairy come packed with fibre, vitamins, minerals and beneficial phytochemicals, which slow down and contribute positively to health, it said.

For beverage categories, the food regulator has proposed that the format with the appropriate name of the beverage is proposed for nutrients of concern above the threshold. This category is created from the nutritional and health perspective, with an intent to make the consumer aware of sugar-sweetened beverages and to consume the same sparingly i.e. a separate category is proposed for beverages exceeding the threshold of sugar and salt.

Refusing to introduce separate pictorial symbols for each nutrient, it said that this may create confusion or misinterpretation among consumers, particularly where multiple nutrients are involved. Overall, pictograms may be interpreted differently by consumers, it said, adding that continuous sensitisation and awareness programmes will further strengthen the understanding of the consumer at large.

Stating that the proposed Front of Package Labelling is intended to provide a simple and clear textual indication of the nutrient(s) of through a prominent and standardised format, the affidavit stated that the non-vegetarian logo prescribed under the FSS regulations is brown-coloured, square containing a triangle, which is already familiar to the consumers. Further the red-coloured hexagonal with square shaped white background format is proposed for Front of package labelling, accordingly both the colour and geometric configuration are distinctly different and creates no confusion.

The proposed warning label would have three components- white square shaped background, a red hexagon within the white square shaped background and (name of the nutrient(s). That this warning label would be displayed prominently on the top left of the front of the pack, ensuring clear visibility and legibility to consumers. The proposed warning symbol would be displayed in a font size at least one point larger than used in the nutrition information table at the back of the pack. The size of the warning label would align with the size of warning label as provided in the Canada model.

The FSSAI affidavit has come in response to the Supreme Court on September 10 asking it to provide a “reasonable, scientifically justified and clearly defined timeline” on how it proposed to implement its proposal for a front-of-pack warning labels, as it underlined that food safety was a cause of “national interest”.