SC ask FSSAI for clarifications on ‘nutrients of concern’ labels

The Supreme Court has sought clarifications from FSSAI on proposed front-of-package labels for foods high in fat, sugar and salt. The court also asked the Centre about nutritional literacy in schools and directed FSSAI to provide a scientifically justified implementation timeline

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which has proposed phased implementation of front-of-package labelling (FoPL) on packaged foods, to come up with more clarifications on the planned labels of “nutrients of concern”, fat, sugar and salt.

FoPL is a nutritional information graphic on food packaging that can assist consumers in making an informed decision about food purchases and healthier dietary choices.

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A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran on Thursday also asked the Centre how it plans to increase nutritional literacy in schools while flagging that children are under acute risk of developing unhealthy eating behaviours.

“In connection with this, we would like the Union to respond on how schools plan to incorporate through curriculum, initiatives, workshops etc, (i) the manner in which information provided in packaged food items, including nutritional information, FoPL etc., must be interpreted, and (ii) other aspects relating to nutritional literacy,” according to the court order uploaded late night.

The matter has been posted for hearing on September 28.

The top court was hearing a plea of the public charitable trust ‘3S and Our Health Society’ which sought directions to the Centre, states and Union territories to implement mandatory FoPL on packaged foods.

The FSSAI had earlier told the top court that it proposed to provide a prominent front-of-pack warning label in red for food products high in added saturated fat, added sugar and salt.

In a compliance affidavit filed last month, the FSSAI said the two-phased proposal is intended to provide a simple, prominent and easily comprehensible warning to consumers regarding food products which are high in specified nutrients of concern.

The FSSAI’s affidavit stated that the FoPL is intended to be implemented in phases to facilitate both “consumer acceptability” and “provide the industry adequate time for reformulation”.

With that aim, Phase I is set to only cover products which are high in two or more of the specified nutrients and specified sweetened beverages, and Phase II is set to extend the label to products high in any one of these nutrients, it said.

On Thursday, the bench asked the FSSAI about the timeline for the implementation of the two phases.

“Assessment of consumer acceptability or giving the industry adequate time for reformulation cannot be reason enough for this uncertainty in time. Therefore, a reasonable, scientifically justified and clearly defined timeline or transitionary period which divides the two-phases must be indicated, for the approach of the FSSAI to be a workable one,” it said.

The court said the FSSAI should file its affidavit to the clarification sought in 10 days.

The bench asked the FSSAI how it proposed to identify the specific sweetened beverages which fall under Phase I of the proposal; additionally, what are the threshold levels of the specific nutrient(s)-in-concern for such beverages?

The bench also sought clarification on various other questions such as on font size of the proposed labelling system, presence of pictorial representations for fat, sugar and salt respectively, and placement of FoPL. It said the regulator must take into account the suggestions and revisit their conception of the FoPL as it stands presently.

“What is different in the proposal presently placed before us is that the FSSAI seems to have adopted a strictly word-based warning label i.e., one that denotes in words whether the product is high in fat, sugar and/or salt. This word heavy FoPL presupposes a certain level of comprehension, literacy, and reading capability across all States/regions, vernaculars, age groups, literacy levels, etc., of the consuming population.

“Ideally, an all-inclusive FoPL which effectively caters to the diverse population of this country should incorporate a combination of words along with pictorial representations of the individual nutrients-of-concern. This would ensure that the information provided in the FoPL is truly accessible,” the top court said.

It added that the normal conditions of purchase and use in India are in themselves difficult to fit into a single, homogenous box and must therefore not be addressed through a blanket approach.

“Moreover, the mode of purchasing food products, in general, is going digital. Therefore, such trends in the realities of Indian consumption must also be taken into consideration and reflected in design choices made for FoPLs,” it said.