Draft Indian Nutrition Rating (INR)

In News

• Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator, has released a draft notification for front-of-pack labelling.

Key Points

• Front-of-pack Labelling: 
  • This draft notification caters to front-of-pack labelling to discourage consumers from buying packaged food high in sugar, salt, and fat.
• Indian Nutrition Rating (INR): 
  • The regulation will require pre-packaged food to carry a star graphic, ranging from ½ to 5, next to the brand name.
  • The unhealthiest food items carry a ½-star rating and the healthiest carry a 5-star rating.
• Criteria for Scoring:
  • Contribution of energy 
  • Content of saturated fat, sugar, sodium, fruit and vegetables (FV), nuts, legumes, and millets (NLM), dietary fibre, and protein per 100 gm of solid or 100 ml liquid foods. 
  • Solid food with a score of more than 25 will be given 0.5 stars, and those with a score less than minus 11 (-11) will get 5 stars.
• Similar to the star-rating system for Energy Efficiency:
  • The system will be similar to the one that is being used by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency for assessing the energy efficiency in electrical devices.
• Exempted Products: 
  • Food such as milk and milk products, whey, butter oil, ghee, vegetable oil and fat, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, fresh and frozen meat, egg, fish, flour, and sweeteners will not have to display the star rating. 
  • Carbonated beverages without any energy or sugar will also not be eligible for declaring the rating, according to the notification.
• Procedure for Companies: 
  • Although not mandatory, the notification stated that food businesses may add interpretive information next to the star-rating logo, giving details of energy, sugar, saturated fat, and salt content. 
  • To generate the star-rating logo for the product, food businesses have to submit nutritional profiles of the products concerned on FSSAI’s FoSCoS (Food Safety Compliance System) portal.
• Global Experience: 
  • There was a change in consumption pattern in several Latin American countries that implemented such warning labels.
  • Chile reported a 24% drop in sugary drink consumption. 
  • A meta-analysis of 100 studies published last year indicated that nutrient warning labels are more effective than traffic lights and nutri-score labels.

Significance of Nutrition Rating

• Caution for Customers: A warning symbol on foods high in sugar, salt, and fat are more likely to discourage people from consuming them. The consumer needs to be cautioned about junk foods through ‘warning’ labels.
• Healthy Choice: Warning signs educate consumers about harmful ingredients present in a food product and help them make healthy choices. 
• Educating Consumers: It will educate consumers about the nutrition profile of the food they are consuming.
• Informed Decision: Warning signs give a repetitive educational message so that even for domestic cooking or buying street food that warning bell goes off. 

Source: IE