The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is set to introduce revised guidelines for nutritional labeling on packaged food products, aiming to enhance consumer awareness and facilitate healthier dietary choices.
According to a recent report by PTI, FSSAI has approved significant changes that mandate the display of total salt, sugar, and saturated fat content in bold, larger-print fonts on food packaging. This initiative, approved during the 44th meeting of the Food Authority chaired by Apurva Chandra, Chairperson of FSSAI, is part of ongoing efforts to empower consumers with clearer nutritional information.
In an official statement, FSSAI stated, “We have approved a proposal to prominently display nutritional information related to total sugar, salt, and saturated fat in bold and increased font sizes on labels of packaged food items.”
This amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, underscores the importance of transparency in food labeling to enable consumers to make informed decisions about their dietary intake.
The revised regulations will also require packaging to highlight the percentage (%) contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) per serving of total sugar, total saturated fat, and sodium content. This aligns with Regulation 2 (v) and 5(3) of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulation, 2020, which specify detailed requirements for serving size and nutritional information on food product labels.
FSSAI will soon release a draft notification outlining these amendments, inviting feedback from stakeholders before finalizing the regulations.
