Healthy or junk? Label them right

IN PERSPECTIVE

A lot of discussions is going on among various stakeholders in the food sector regarding the role of mandatory front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) in making India a healthier nation. What type of food labels would help consumers make an informed and healthy choice and encourage the industry to make their products healthier?

The FoPL provides consumers with easy-to-understand information about the real nutritional value of products they eat or drink. In other words, the FoPL aims to inform consumers about the content of sodium/salt, fats, saturated fats, and sugar in packaged foods, which are linked to burgeoning cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, stroke and heart-related health problems besides obesity.

In fact, ‘high in’-style warning labels on the front of food packets is a proven strategy for informing consumers clearly if a certain food or beverage is laden with high saturated fat, salt or sugar (HFSS). And Covid-19 has just reinforced how vital it is for the government to ensure that its citizens eat healthily and have strong immunity. For, it is a well-known fact that persons with NCDs are among those more likely to get a severe bout of Covid-19.

Nor can the NCD crisis, which is by itself a major worry, be ignored. According to a report, NCDs have contributed to a staggering 64.9% of total deaths in India. India is sitting on the time bomb of NCDs which can explode at any time. It is said that by 2045, India is likely to become the ‘Diabetes and obesity Capital’ of the world. Increasing consumption of ultra-processed and packaged or junk food is a major risk factor for all NCDs.

While every year an increasing number of countries are willingly implementing FoPL, India’s food regulatory body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), for the last eight years, is still deliberating the matter even as many people, particularly children, are pushed into the trap of unhealthy eating habits.

Various studies have shown that the rate of sales growth of ultra-processed food and beverages has increased over the years, particularly in lower and middle-income regions of Asia, including India, as compared to the rest of the world.

Food giants are deliberately ignoring the health threat looming large over the nation. Currently, nutrition information is available on packaged foods and beverages on the back of the product. The format is not easily understood while many consumers don’t have the time to read the fine print when shopping. The implementation of FoPL has shown that it can be a win-win for industry and public health in the long run.

If the government is really serious about the health of its citizens, particularly youth and kids, it should take immediate measures to improve nutritional labelling and make FoPL mandatory. It would be a cost-effective strategy to promote a healthy diet and prevent food-induced diseases.

An example is the introduction of mandatory pictorial warnings on tobacco products in India. We know that such a move was strongly resisted by the industry initially. But, it has educated consumers about the health risks of tobacco usage and changed people’s perceptions.

There are reports that the FSSAI is mulling over the introduction of the Health Star Rating (HSR) Label. But this is not going to be quite helpful in a country like India, which has a huge number of poor and vulnerable populations. It has not been effective in Australia and New Zealand too, which have introduced the ratings. There was no demonstrable public health impact. The HSR allows the food industry to tweak the rating as per its comfort, as a result of which unhealthy products can get away with better health ratings.

In comparison, warning label style FoPL is better for a country like India with such diverse literacy levels.

The need of the hour is that all stakeholders like parents, medical fraternity, voluntary organisations and the food regulatory body join hands to push the food industry to introduce mandatory FoPL. Efforts should also be made to catch the children young and make them aware of the harmful effects of junk food.

Doctors, too, should emphasise how critical it is that we fix our food system for the sake of building a healthier nation.

We should make impressionable minds aware of healthy and unhealthy foods. In fact, the merits of having healthy food and the demerits of gulping down unhealthy junk food should be part of the school curriculum. It’s time amid the Covid-19 pandemic that we seriously thought about where we are heading for.

(The writer is a cardiologist, based in Gurugram)

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