Draft Indian Nutrition Rating (INR)

Draft Indian Nutrition Rating (INR)

The country's top food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has published a draft regulation for front-of-pack labeling.

Major Points

This draft notification addresses front-of-pack labelling in an effort to deter customers from purchasing packaged foods that are heavy in sugar, salt, and fat.

Indian Nutrition Rating (INR):

• According to the rule, pre-packaged goods must have a star design next to the brand name that ranges from 12 to 5.
• Food items are rated from 12 stars for the least healthy to 5 stars for the healthiest.

Guidelines for Scoring

• Energy contribution per 100 g of solid or 100 ml of liquid meals for saturated fat, sugar, sodium, fruit and vegetables (FV), nuts, legumes, and millets (NLM), dietary fibre, and protein.
• Solid food will receive 0.5 stars if it receives a score of more than 25, and 5 stars if it receives a score of less than minus 11 (-11).

The star system for energy efficiency is comparable.

• The system will be comparable to the one used by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to evaluate electrical equipment energy efficiency.

Exempted Items:

• The star rating will not need to be visible on foods like milk and milk products, whey, butter oil, ghee, vegetable oil and fat, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, fresh and frozen meat, egg, fish, flour, and sweets.
• The letter states that carbonated drinks devoid of any sugar or energy will also be ineligible for rating declaration.
• Company Procedures: The notification indicated that food establishments may add interpretive information next to the star-rating logo, providing details of the energy, sugar, saturated fat, and salt contents. This is not required.
• Food enterprises must submit nutritional profiles of the products in question to the FSSAI's FoSCoS (Food Safety Compliance System) portal in order to generate the star-rating mark for the product.

Worldwide experience

• In some Latin American nations that adopted such warning labels, there was a change in consumption habits.
• Chile reported a 24% decrease in the usage of sugary drinks.
• In comparison to traffic lights and nutri-score labels, nutrient warning labels are more effective, according to a meta-analysis of 100 studies that was published last year.

Nutritional Rating: Its Importance

• Customers beware: Foods with warning labels on them that are rich in sugar, salt, or fat are more likely to deter consumers from eating them. Through "warning" labels, the consumer has to be warned about junk food.
• Making a healthy choice is made easier by warning consumers about potentially dangerous components in food products.
• Consumer Education: It will inform customers about the nutritional makeup of the food they are eating.
• Making an informed decision is possible thanks to the warning signs' repeated educational message, which rings a warning bell even whether purchasing street food or cooking at home.