This story is from July 19, 2014

Labelling on foods to be more detailed soon

Packaged food will soon have to sport labels with detailed list of ingredients in larger fonts.
Labelling on foods to be more detailed soon
HYDERABAD: Packaged food will soon have to sport labels with detailed list of ingredients in larger fonts, with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) deciding to make changes in the rules pertaining to labeling of products. The final draft notification would soon be made public, said Dr B Sesikeran, chairman, scientific panel on labelling and claims at FSSAI.
"Manufacturers make a lot of claims on the benefits of their products.
They will be allowed to publish the claims on the labeling only after results of authentic scientific research are shown to the FSSAI. Only if the results are found to be acceptable will the claim be allowed to be printed," Sesikeran said.
Tall claims and misleading words will not be allowed under the new rules while even the salt, sugar and transfat content will have to be prominently mentioned.
Though guidelines are already present to define labeling processes, the change was made necessary due to newer ingredients being added to products and the international regulations.
Though the FSSAI held interactions with the industry on the proposed changes, it is of the view that the guidelines should be more 'consumer friendly'. The final draft us expected to come out in a month or so.

Representative image (Getty Images)
The FSSAI recently also gave specific instructions on the labelling of Canola oil imported from Canada.
Canola oil is an edible vegetable oil from rapeseed bearing low erucic acid.

Representative image (Getty Images)

The FSSAI said the oil was not in accordance with the rules under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2011. It was informed that it should list out all the ingredients. FSSAI said the appropriate marking under 'ingredients' should be 'Edible vegetable oil (but not to mention as Canola oil), and other ingredients should be mentioned. It was mentioned that it should be declared as 'Imported refined rapeseed oil — low erucic acid oil' "to ensure protection of the interests of consumers and to provide basis for consumers to make informed choices in relation to the food they consume".
The FSSAI said the manufacturer can use an additional trade name.
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