India’s food-label debate intensifies as health activists seek clearer warnings and food companies push back
A can of Fanta sold in India contains more sugar than the same drink sold in Britain. It also contains an artificial colour that is not used in the British version. Yet the Indian pack does not carry the same kind of prominent health warning seen in some European markets.
That contrast has brought India’s food-labelling rules back into the spotlight. The issue is part of a wider debate over whether consumers in India are getting enough information about the packaged food and drinks they buy — and whether companies should be required to make that information easier to see.
India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has been working for years on ways to make nutritional information on packaged food easier to understand.
One proposal was to put prominent warnings on the front of packs when products contain high levels of sugar, salt or fat.
Such systems are already used in several countries. They allow consumers to spot potentially unhealthy products without having to study the detailed nutritional table at the back.
More from BusinessBut FSSAI has now moved away from the idea of colourful front-of-pack warnings.
In August, it proposed a black-and-white table showing the levels of sugar, fat and salt instead.
The regulator has argued that India’s food habits are different from those in Western countries and that international labelling systems cannot simply be copied.
The move is being challenged before the Supreme Court by public health activists.
Why the food industry is resisting
Food companies have argued that warning labels can oversimplify nutritional information and may not change what people eat.
At a March meeting with FSSAI officials, industry representatives urged regulators to focus more on portion control and consumer education.
A senior Coca-Cola India executive, Mili Bhattacharya, questioned whether consumers who do not normally read ingredient lists would significantly change their diets simply because a warning symbol appeared on a package.
But the industry position has also attracted scrutiny.
Coca-Cola and its bottling partners already use traffic-light-style nutritional labels in several European markets. Coca-Cola HBC has described the system as a way of providing consumers with clear nutritional information.
Nestle has also used interpretive labels in Britain since 2013.
Coca-Cola and Nestle declined to comment on the Reuters investigation.
A high-stakes battle
The issue matters because of the sheer size of India’s packaged food market.
Industry estimates cited in a Reuters investigation suggest that nearly 80 per cent of products in India’s more than $100-billion packaged food and beverage market could be considered high in fat, sugar or salt under the proposed criteria.
That could mean a large number of products carrying prominent warnings if such a system is introduced.
For food companies, such labels could influence how consumers view their products.
For health experts, that is precisely the point.
They argue that a warning on the front of a packet can help consumers make a quick decision, while information buried in a detailed nutrition table may be overlooked.
Supreme Court scrutiny
The debate has now reached the Supreme Court. Public health activists have sought stronger front-of-pack warnings. In February, the court directed regulators to consider such labels and suggested that India look at systems used in other countries, including Israel.
But FSSAI subsequently told the court that adopting international packaging standards would be difficult.
The court has questioned that approach and stressed the need to protect public health.
The dispute could now determine whether India eventually adopts prominent warnings or sticks with the less visible nutritional information proposed by FSSAI.
Same brands, different recipes
The Fanta comparison is not an isolated case.
Multinational food companies often change products from one country to another because of local tastes, regulations, ingredient costs and pricing.
But Indian consumers and health activists have increasingly begun comparing products sold in India with versions available overseas.
Consumer activist Revant Himatsingka, known as FoodPharmer, has built a large following on social media by highlighting such differences.
The products he has examined include Fanta, KitKat and Maggi.
The differences do not necessarily mean that products sold in India are unsafe or violate Indian regulations. But they have raised questions about whether consumers are being given enough information about how products differ across markets.
Health concerns are growing
The debate comes as India’s food habits are changing.
Packaged snacks, soft drinks, instant noodles and other processed foods have become increasingly common as incomes rise and lifestyles change.
At the same time, concerns about obesity and diet-related diseases are increasing.
A recent study published in The Lancet estimated that around 450 million Indians could be overweight or obese by 2050.
Health experts say clearer food labels can help people understand what they are buying and encourage healthier choices.
The industry, meanwhile, says labels alone cannot solve the problem and that consumers also need better awareness about portion sizes and balanced diets.
(With inputs from agencies.)
