An Introduction to Food Labelling requirements in India :

Food Labelling requirements

Food Labelling serves as a primary link of communication between the manufacturer or packer of food on the one hand and distributor, seller, and user or consumer on the other hand. By way of labelling the manufacturer introduces his product to his distributor or seller and to the target consumer or user of his product by providing all the information regarding his product on the label.

The manufacturer can impress the consumer or its target user that it is the product of his choice, which suits him/her according to his/her needs. Thereby, the correct and required labelling undoubtedly promotes the sale of his product.

As per Food Laws every packaged food article has to be labelled and it has to be labelled in accordance to the law applicable in the country of the user. Every packaged food article for the domestic use has to be labelled in accordance to the related Indian Food Law i.e. Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, notified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The packaged food for export has to be labelled in accordance to the food laws and regulations applicable to the importing country.

In order to safe guard the interest of the consumer, The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, provides that every packaged food article has to be labelled and it shall provide the following information –

1. The name of Food
2. List of Ingredients,
3. Nutritional Information,
4. Declaration regarding Veg or non-veg,
5. Declaration regarding Food Additives,
6. Name and complete address of the manufacturer or packer
7. Net Quantity,
8. Code No,/Lot No./Batch No.,
9. Date of manufacture or packing,
10. .Best Before and Use By Date,
11. .Country of Origin for imported food and
12. .Instructions for use

In addition to the above information the manufacturer or the packer has to also ensure that the label complies with the general requirements of labelling prescribed under the regulations I.e. the label should not become separated from the container, contents on the label shall be correct, clear and readily legible and shall be in English or Hindi language, etc.

It is very easy to notice the defect in labelling through visual inspection and there is no need to send the sample for analysis and no analysis report is required to identify the labelling defects. If the food product is not labelled in accordance to the regulations or it does not provide the required complete information or the food product is promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims then it is considered as misbranded food and attracts the penalties as given below-

OFFENCES & PENALTIES

1. Misbranded Food Up to 3lakh rupee
2. Misleading advertisement Up to 10lakh rupees

The consumer can notice the labelling defect easily through visual inspection and that may create suspicion about the quality of the product also in the mind of the consumer.

If during food inspection the regulator notices any labelling defect then it creates doubt in the mind of the regulator about the quality of the food product also and invariably the sample of such food product is taken and sent for analysis for the check of its quality also.

If on analysis the sample is found non-complying to the standards then the food product is declared as substandard besides misbranding and prosecution is launched for substandard and also for misbranding i.e labelling defect. Even if the sample is found confirming to standards, the prosecution is launched for misbranding.

From the above discussion, it is clear that on one hand the correct and appropriate labelling convince the user that it is the product for him/her and he/she should buy it and indirectly promotes the sale of the product. On the other hand incorrect and incomplete labelling makes the food product misbranded, suspicious of its quality and attracts the attention of the regulators for its quality check and further leads to prosecution.

In view of above, the Food Business Operator can understand the importance of correct labelling and if the label declaration is incorrect and not in accordance to the regulations then the FBOs have to face the implications of the FSS acts.

The Food Business Operator is responsible for providing the correct and requisite information on the label to the consumers. Considering the importance of correct labelling, We have made this course for awareness of the Food Business Operators on labelling of packaged food products in accordance to food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011,notified by FSSAI which is effective in India w.e.f. August 5, 2011. This Packaging and Labelling Regulations are summarized in the following modules:

1. General Requirements and Manner of Labelling
2. The name of Food and List of Ingredients,
3. Nutritional Information,
4. Declaration regarding Veg or Non-veg,
5. Declaration regarding Food Additives,
6. Name of Manufacturer or packer and Country of Origin
7. Net Quantity
8. Lot No. /Batch No./Code No.
9. Date of manufacture or packing and Best Before or Use By Date,
10. .Instructions for Use
11. .Specific Requirements and Manner of Labelling for Infant Milk Substitute and Infant Foods
12. .Specific Labelling Requirements of edible oils and fats, permitted food colors and irradiated foods
13. .Specific Requirements and Manner of Labelling of Other Food Products
14. .Specific Restrictions on product labels and advertisement
15. .Exemptions from labelling requirements

“Labelling means to introduce a product for sale by providing comprehensive information about the product to the target consumer market besides ensuring safety standards of the regulatory body. A useful elaborated information about the label leaves good impression on the consumers seeking required details about the product”

WHO says 24g of sugar a day is the safe limit

DRAFT GUIDELINES ISSUED IN BID TO COMBAT OBESITY AND RELATED ILLNESSES

Kamini Mathai | TNN 

    The next time you order lunch, you may want to pass up on the can of soda. Or think twice about dousing your fries in ketchup. According to the latest World Health Organisation draft guidelines, a can of soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, and every tablespoon of ketchup 1 teaspoon of sugar, which pushes you over your recommended ‘sugar’ limit for the day.
    In a bid to combat obesity and related illnesses such as diabetes, WHO drafted ‘sugar intake’ guidelines, which recommend that the intake of free sugar in both adults and children not exceed 10% of total energy intake (around 50g or approx 12 tsp). And, says Francesco Branca, who presented the guidelines, a further reduction to less than 5% of total energy gives additional health benefits. Doctors recommend 12g or 3 tsp of sugar a day for children under 8, while pre-teens and teens can go up to 24g.
    WHO guidelines refer to the added sugar and the sugar naturally present in fruit juices, honey, syrup. Intrinsic sugar, present in fruit and vegetables, is not counted. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, say doctors, adding that the guidelines should have come sooner.
    Dr Nihal Tomas, Professor and Head, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Christian Medical College, Vellore, believes this is perhaps one of the most important guidelines WHO has drafted, considering that an estimated 101.2 million people in India will have diabetes by 2030.
    “The average Indian consumes anything from 6 tsp to 10 tsp a day of sugar. But in young adults I would say the amount of sugar consumed is much higher, perhaps even double on average,” says Dr Thomas. “While people may count the number of teaspoons they put into their coffee or tea it is the hidden sugars that are never taken into account. In some places they use sugar in certain gravies like a shahi kurma or a tikka masala,” he says.
    Dietitian Dharini Krishnan says the changing dietary habits of young adults are a cause for concern. “Most Indians don’t usually exceed the 6 tsp of sugar a day limit if they stick to regular Indian food — idlis, dosas and chapatis — which do not have free sugars. But when you begin eating something like breakfast cereals or use flavouring agents in milk, that is when you can tip over,” she says.
    The intake is more worrying for children. “If you take the sugary flavouring or fortified powders one adds to milk, a tablespoon, which is actually 3 tsps, contains approximately 12g of sugar. Give the child this kind of milk twice a day and they have already doubled their daily quota,” says Krishnan.
    In a study in ‘PLOS Medicine’, researchers suggested adding a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in India, estimating it could prevent 11.2 million cases of overweight/obesity and 400,000 cases of type 2 diabetes between 2014 and 2023.
    “A taxation on SSBs could reduce the buying capacity and that in turn could mean fewer people buying those beverages,” says Sutapa Agrawal, population scientist at the Public Health Foundation of India who co-authored the study.
“Governments have seen consumption of tobacco reduce because of taxation, so why not do the same with sugar-sweetened beverages?” she says. In fact, Branca refers to sugar as perhaps being the new tobacco in terms of public health action.

4 traders fined for selling adulterated food items

The Food Safety Department in the district has imposed a fine of Rs 82,500 on four traders of the district for violating the Food and Safety Standards Regulation Act 2011.

The fine was imposed as the packaging and levelling on the goods were found misleading. The samples of the goods were sent to the food testing laboratory at Rudrapur last month.

“The four traders, namely Tikendra Singh from Didihat, Niraj Upadhaya and Basant Kandpal from Pithoragarh town and Kundal Jimiwal from Ogla town near Didihat have been fined Rs 7,500, Rs 40,000, Rs 20,000, and Rs 15,000, respectively. The samples of goods taken from their shops have been found to be of substandard quality,” said Prashant Arya, SDM, Pithoragarh.

“We have taken strong steps to check adulteration of food items on Holi. We have constituted teams to check the sale of substandard food items,” he added.

Food-related traders asked to register with FSSAI before August 4

Panelists at a discussion on Food Safety and Security Act at the Puducherry University on Friday.
“Vendors simply have to declare that they are running a food-based business”
Although the Food Safety Standards Act has been in place for several years now, and it is now mandatory for all food-related businesses, including street food vendors, to register with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India, many restaurants and smaller vendors hesitate to apply for the licenses.
All food related businesses have been asked to register with the FSSAI before August 4 this year.
Since the experience in the past of many of these food vendors has been bad when it came to licensing and policing by the officials, many people have refused to apply for their unique identity cards.
The FSSAI, however, is very different since the emphasis is not on policing from outside, but on self regulation, Member of the scientific committee of the FSSAI J.S. Pai said on the sidelines of the One day workshop on Food Safety Act: “Know the Act & Regulations” here on Friday.
The intentions of this Act are good, and through its provisions, there is very little scope of harassment and problems. It is up to the State government and universities to raise awareness among the people, he said.
Even though the procedure is very simple, the vendor simply has to fill a form to declare that he is running a food-based business, many do not apply. The onus is on State government to ensure this happens, since it will make the vendors accountable, Senior Scientist of the National Institute of Nutrition R.V. Sudershan said.
Through their unique identity numbers, the name and location of the vendor as well as contact details will be available to the consumer. This will make them answerable, he said.
In terms of the consumers, there is a section of the FSSAI website that invites whistleblowers. These people will be working with the Centre or State governments to help ensure the quality of food is maintained, Aruna Kumar from the Central Food Technology Research Institute said.
The one-day workshop organised by the Food Science and Technology Department was aimed at educating business people in the food industry on the Act.

Despite nationwide ban, calcium carbide used by traders to ripen fruit

Traders continue to use calcium carbide to ripen such fruit as mangoes, bananas, chikoos, oranges and watermelon, despite the ban by the Centre on the use of the chemical. They are undeterred by the fact that state food and drug administrations (FDA) conduct raids every mango season.

According to a trader from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, the state FDA seize between 1,000 and 2,000 boxes of mangoes that have been artificially ripened, with the sole objective of making a quick buck.

“Until the rules are enforced with utmost strictness, traders would continue to be fearless and use calcium carbide to ripen the fruit,” he added. Alam Khan, another fruit trader at the market, stated that artificial ripening was rampant because of the manner in which the market was structured.

“The mangoes that enter the market before the commencement of the actual season are sold at higher prices. To take advantage of this, traders ripen the fruit using chemicals and sell the fruit as early as possible,” he added.

Khan stated that calcium carbide was banned owing to its carcinogenic properties, and explained the procedure traders follow to ripen the fruit. “Acetylene gas, a by-product of calcium carbide, creates heat,” he said.

“It is mainly used as a fuel and in welding, and contains toxic impurities that affect the nervous system. When acetylene is filled amidst the fruit in a box, it heats the fruit on the outside, and thus the mangoes and oranges turn yellow or orange, as the case may be.”

H G Koshia, food and drug commissioner, Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat said, “In 2013, FDCA’s food safety officers destroyed over 30 tonne mangoes ripened using calcium carbide.”

“In February 2014, we seized over 100 boxes of mangoes ripened using it. Despite knowing about it, most traders are still using it, although stringent action has been taken against on them on a number of occasions,” he added.

“Since the mango season is approaching, we would be doing regular checks on both retailers and wholesalers of mangoes to find out whether they have stopped using calcium carbide or not,” Koshia said.

Mahesh Zagade, food commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, said, “In 2012, our officials seized over 1,000 dozen mangoes ripened using calcium carbide from all over Maharashtra.”

“In May 2013, the officials seized 706 dozen mangoes, worth Rs 1.23 lakh from Pune’s Kasba Peth area. The use of calcium carbide is banned because it contain the traces of arsenic and phosphorus, which pose a serious threat to human health,” he added.

“Earlier we issued directives to the traders and warned them that they would be prosecuted if they continued to use calcium carbide. However, it is still being used in Maharashtra and across the country,” Zagade said.

“In order to curb the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruit, we need to create awareness among the masses. We need to make the traders aware that instead of calcium carbide, they could use ethylene gas to ripen mangoes and other fruit,” he added.

Study on convenience food released

CHENNAI:

                 The Consumers Association of India (CAI) along with the Centre for Consumer Education, Research, Teaching, Training and Testing (CONCERT) has released a study on convenience food.

Director of CAI G Santhanrajan said convenience food comprised heat and eat, ready to eat and ready to cook products.
It provides a vast array of choices like rice preparations, chapattis, desserts and non-vegetarian food. Such food items have to be tested for packaging and labelling, quality along with health and safety.
While the quality parameters included nutritional label claims verification results and chemical characteristics verification, health and safety meant a test for microbiological characteristics, said Santhanrajan
CONCERT secretary general G Rajan said quality and safety of food products was being regulated by Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FS&SAI). However “at present, standards for ready to eat food products of ‘heat and eat type’ had not been prescribed either by FS&SAI or Bureau of Indian Standards ( BIS).”