New FSSAI guidelines call for a bolder, larger font on food labels

The changes to the nutritional information labeling on packaged food items have been approved at the 44th meeting of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), presided over by Apurva Chandra.

According to the proposed changes to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, food product labels must indicate the total amount of salt, sugar, and saturated fat in bold characters with higher font sizes.

According to an official statement from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), "A proposal to display nutritional information regarding total sugar, salt, and saturated fat in bold letters and relatively increased font size on labels of packaged food items has been approved."

The public will be able to provide feedback and ideas on the draft notification for these modifications.

The revisions provide that total sugar, total saturated fat, and sodium content per-serve percentage contributions to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) will be indicated in bold letters.

According to the FSSAI, the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulation, 2020's regulations 2(v) and 5(3) outline the requirements for incorporating serving size and nutritional information, respectively, on food product labels.

The goal of the amendment is to enable customers to make healthier choices by giving them a greater understanding of the nutritional content of the products they consume.

The FSSAI stated that, "Along with empowering consumers to make healthier choices, the amendment would also contribute towards efforts to combat the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promote public health and well-being."

Creating distinct and clear labeling regulations is a top objective in the international effort to fight non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The word "health drink" has been removed from e-commerce websites by the FSSAI in order to prevent false and misleading claims. This is because the term is neither defined nor standardized under the FSS Act 2006 or its rules and regulations.

Additionally, the FDA has recently ordered Food Business Operators (FBOs) to stop using the terms wheat flour and refined wheat flour and to remove any claims of 100% fruit juice from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices.