FSSAI-Health Star ratings for packed food – opposition from doctors and public health professionals

The critics who took up the issue with the food regulator since last year and demanded a warning symbol instead of a star rating, have now written to PM's adviser

Doctors and public health researchers on Friday trashed an Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad study for ignoring serious public health concerns on packaged food while recommending a “health star rating” for such foods.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India plans to introduce such a rating system for the industry, taking inputs from the study.

The critics who took up the issue with the food regulator since last year and demanded a warning symbol instead of a star rating, have now written to Amit Khare, advisor to the Prime Minister, appraising him of the flaws in the study as well as the FSSAI proposal.

The Prime Minister’s Office had reviewed the contentious issue a few months back and advised the regulator to arrive at a consensus.

"We believe the IIM Ahmedabad study is not methodologically sound and is not an appropriate basis for making a major health policy decision for India,” the doctors wrote in their letter to Khare earlier this week.

They say star rating conveys approval or endorsement, basis of which is not clear to the consumer. A health warning, on the other hand, is a statement that clearly warns the consumer of something that is harmful in its impact on health. It also serves as a cautionary example to people or consumers who can take informed action.

“Star ratings can be misleading, as they do not clearly inform the consumer whether the rating is for specific constituents, taste or shelf life. The consumer’s right to judge the health risks posed by any packaged food product is not served by the star ratings”, noted K Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India.

Individual components like fiber, fruit, vegetable or nuts added to a fundamentally unhealthy food product in the name of positive nutrients, may give a false impression of the food being healthy which can lead to over consumption of such food products.

"Adding such ingredients won’t lessen the negative effects of ultra-processed and packaged food on the body,” said Arun Gupta, public health campaigner and former member PM’s Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges.

The shortcomings of the study include having 13.8 per cent of respondents with no schooling at all or illiterate and 28-35 per cent of respondents who never read food labels. They should have been excluded. Also young adolescent children from age 10 to 18 years who are big consumers of packaged biscuits, chips and bottled soft drinks have been excluded.

"It's a completely flawed study. The report is not worth making a policy," said Vandana Prasad, community pediatrician, Public Health Resource Network.