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Panel formed by FSSAI to table labelling guidelines on HFSS foods soon
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Saturday, 07 October, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The industry can expect to get labelling guidelines on food products high in fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) soon. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had formed an expert working group to study the ill- effects of HFSS foods on public health, particularly that of children, and recommending strategies to control them.
This committee comprises members having diverse experiences and working in various institutes and capacities from across India. Experts opined that the labelling norms for such foods are vital, as there is no scientific definition of the food high in fat, salt, sugar, which is commonly referred to as junk food.
Dr Rekha Harish, professor and head, department of paediatrics, Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, and one of the members of the working group on HFSS, said, “When you say junk food, there is no scientific term given.”
Little or no protein
“However, in common parlance, it can be defined as food that contains little or no protein, vitamin or minerals, but is rich in fat, salt and sugar. These foods are tasty and addictive like cocaine, and their main targets are children,” she added.
Dr Harish stated, “As per the statistics available, nowadays children under the age of 10 are suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), hypertension, cardiovascular problems, obesity and Type-2 diabetes.”
“They fall into the trap easily through television commercials, while they are eating as they do that without sensation of food being consumed at that period,” she added.
“Also, the average combo meal eaten outside, comprising a burger, Coke and french fries, leads to the consumption of 2,000 calories and 133g of fat [which is 50 times higher than the body needs in a day (about 30g)],” Dr Harish said.
“Five gram of common salt equals to 2g of sodium. Thus, when a company mentions 2g of salt on the packet, it is wrongly interpreted by the consumer. Therefore, labelling on the food package needs to be formulated properly,” she added.
Keeping the alarming situation in view, FSSAI is working on a set of rules, which will be defined in accordance to the daily recommended intake of a nutrient or ingredient for a person in a day.
These norms would make it mandatory for food business operators (FBOs) to mention the amounts of fat, salt and sugar in accordance to the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs).
Further, it would be made mandatory for them to mention what part of the RDA is consumable on the package of that food product or per serving of the product.
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI, informed that the labelling norms for HFSS foods will be a part of the larger regulations for the labelling norms.
“The work on the packaging, labelling, advertisement and claim regulations is going on, and the norms will be out soon. The labelling norms will be comprehensive and shall cover all food products and kinds,” he added.
Rationale behind the move
Throwing light on the rationale behind the move to make an expert group on the subject of HFSS, Dr Shweta Khandelwal, associate professor, Public Health Foundation of India, said, “India is experiencing a rapid increase in childhood overweight and obesity exacerbated by multiple micro-nutrient deficiencies.”
“The most important reason fuelling this unhealthy nutritional trend is the poor diets rich in trans-fats, simple sugars and salt,” she added.
“Thus a policy regulating the manufacture, advertising, sale and purchase of such products is urgently warranted,” Dr Khandelwal said.
“Expert panels have been constituted to look into available evidence, advise on the adverse impacts of HFSS and recommend strategies to control HFSS foods in the market,” she added.
Dr Khandelwal said, “The draft labelling guidelines are ready and will be tabled for public consultation soon. As far as I know, they are following a positive labelling model based on the traffic light system.”
She added, “Our report does provide the necessary threshold values - for fats, sugars and salt - exceeding which can result in the product being categorised as HFSS.”
Giving a further insight into whether the report as a part of the study would look into the food that would be sold at schools and food healthy for school children or food that is generally sold in markets as well, Dr Khandelwal said, “The availability of HFSS at schools is definitely something we have discouraged always.”
“In our report, we have advised for healthier options in messes/canteens. Even parents or caregivers must ensure they choose healthier products to feed their children,” she added.
“For this, we have urged the government and other public nutrition institutions to invest in mass awareness campaigns, education programmes to help empower consumers,” Dr Khandelwal said.
“Misleading advertisements should be banned, and HFSS ads, in particular, should not be aired during children’s shows,” she added.
Dr Khandelwal opined, “It wasn’t our mandate to check each school’s menu. But we have suggested healthy recipes and options with whole grains, fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables.”
“We have tried to emphasise reduction in processed and packaged foods laden with trans-fats, simple sugars and/or salt,” she added.
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