Front of the pack warning can discourage people from making unhealthy choices: NIN study
Front-of-the-pack warning labels have the potential to discourage individuals from making unhealthy choices
Hyderabad: Front-of-the-pack warning labels have the potential to discourage individuals from making unhealthy choices, a recent study conducted by the city-based National Institution of Nutrition (NIN), an institute of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Friday said.
These labels on packaged food products can deter choice and consumption of even moderately unhealthy foods, while summary ratings like health star or NutriScore helps identify healthier variants among the available foods, the study said.
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The study has the potential to show the way forward to Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which is considering to implement a symbol-based Front-of-Pack Nutritional Labels (FOPNL) in the near future.
The countrywide study, covering 3231 participants was taken up to understand the acceptability and potential use of different formats of FOPNL in promoting informed food choices. Warning labels provide information about potential hazards associated with the product as they take into consideration the nutrients of concern like sugars, fats and salt. Summary labels, on the other hand, provide a brief and concise overview of the product’s key features and benefits, often including information about positive as well as negative nutrients, the study said.
In India, the FSSAI is considering to implement a symbol-based FOPNL. However, context specific evidence on the effectiveness of FOPNL is needed to inform ongoing advocacy and regulatory processes in India. The decision to which type of FOPNL should be used in a country should be based on the local research, along with regional and global evidence, and in consideration of each country’s specific objectives for developing a FOPNL policy, NIN officials, in a press release, said.
As part of the study, the NIN tested different formats of FOPNL that are being implemented in different countries globally either voluntarily or by mandatory implementation. The study tested five FOPNL formats including Nutri-score (NS) (Europe), Health Star Rating (HSR) (Australia), Warning Labels (WL), Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL) and Nutri-star Rating (NSR).
In the study, it was observed that even though the percentage of participants reading nutrition information is low, the participants checking the veg/non veg symbols and quality symbols was higher. Therefore, FOPNL on pre-packaged processed foods are likely to have good uptake among the Indian population as they are symbol-based.
“The uniqueness of the study is also that the FOPNL formats were used on different variants of the mock packs of the same food. Unlike in other studies, different foods were not used to depict different labels. Therefore, the responses could be solely based on the understanding of the FOPNL alone without a preconceived perception about the healthiness of the product”, said Dr Hemalatha R, Director, ICMR-NIN.
The study showed that warning labels (WL and NSR) deterred more people from choosing moderately healthy or unhealthy variants, whereas the summary labels made them look healthier.
“Participants randomized to any of the FOPNL formats were able to identify healthiest and least healthy variants of foods, however warning labels had greater impact in altering the health perception of the food products, as presence of even one warning sign prompted more cautious behaviours in choosing the foods. However, among the summary indicators, even presence of 2 stars Health Star Rating or Code D (orange shades) in NutriScore prompted higher choice of the same variants of food and lesser willingness to opt for others”, said Dr SubbaRao M Gavaravarapu, Scientist F and the lead Investigator of the study.
“The choice of the FOPNL format for the Indian scenario should not base only on wider acceptability and appeal but on its ability to influence food choice. The key purpose of introducing the FOPNL also drives the choice of the format. If the purpose of FOPNL is to promote healthy food choices then summary labels may be useful. Alternatively, in the context of growing overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases if the FOPNL has to serve as a preventive tool and deter the consumers from consumption of nutrients of concern, then warning indicator labels (like WL in NSR in the current study) could be helpful”, said Dr Hemalatha
It is worthwhile to note that the current format Indian Nutrition Rating (INR) being considered by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a summary label like the health star rating.
The positive scores are partially based on ingredients like Fruit & Vegetable, Legumes, Millets etc. High Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) foods are categorised based on nutrients of concern present in the food.
It might be difficult to enforce the regulation as the validation of star rating at the field level at the time of implementation may be difficult as analytically, it is not possible to quantitate the ingredients (to cross check or verify), while it is easier to assess the nutrients in the food product.
Therefore, the study recommends that it would be appropriate to opt for a format that makes the validation/verification easier.
