By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – India toughened its stance on proposed warning labels for packaged foods on Wednesday, saying products high in salt, sugar or fat would carry red warning symbols even if only one of those ingredients exceeded limits, dealing a setback to the $100 billion industry.
India is in the midst of an unprecedented food safety crackdown, including nationwide raids against eateries, amid concern over poor hygiene and standards. The government’s plan for front-of-pack red warning labels came after heated public debate on the lack of such measures.
Under an earlier plan, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India would have mandated warnings only when two ingredients breached thresholds. That plan was criticised by activists and health experts as being too lenient, prompting the Supreme Court of India to question the approach.
Warning labels will now be rolled out in a single phase, the FSSAI told the Supreme Court in a filing dated Wednesday, which is not public but was seen by Reuters.
“FSSAI proposes to adopt a single-phase approach … Furthermore, where only one nutrient of concern is present, the corresponding nutrient shall be indicated in the hexagon,” the court filing said, referring to the red warning symbol.
TIMELINES, SWEETENER WARNINGS
Sharing timelines for the first time, the FSSAI said it will issue and finalise the labelling regulations in around four months, but the industry will then get one year to mandatorily implement stricter labelling.
“There shall be voluntary implementation period of 365 days,” FSSAI said.
India’s food and drinks market is one of the fastest-growing for foreign players including Nestle, Unilever, Mondelez and Mars, whose food products compete in a thriving industry that includes big Indian firms.
In a newly proposed measure, the FSSAI also said any food product, including beverages, containing artificial sweeteners should carry a warning statement — “CONTAIN NON CALORIC SWEETENER” — on the front of packs, instead of on the back panel as currently mandated.
The nationwide debate on food safety has intensified since Reuters reported last month that India’s government opted for a weaker labelling regime after lobbying by Coca-Cola and groups backing Nestle and PepsiCo which argued warning labels were ineffective. Many companies, however, have implemented such measures voluntarily in European markets.
Indians are known for their sweet tooth, and industry executives say many traditional sweets, along with products such as chips and cola, could be labelled red under the new rules.
The All India Food Processors’ Association, which represents global and local firms, has told the Supreme Court that many popular products risk being covered in warnings, which will tarnish the image of Indian food globally.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Alex Richardson, Elaine Hardcastle, Ros Russell)
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