7 out of 10 Indians want a warning sign on packaged food: a survey by LocalCircles

A survey by social media research platform LocalCircles has revealed that Indians want a warning label on packaged food or food.  That means if the amount of 'fats' is high in the packet of chips, biscuits, or cake and if sugar or salt has been added more than the prescribed standards, then a red warning sign should be made on that packet. Similarly, if any packaged food is healthy, then it should have a green or orange color sign. A total of 11,439 people were surveyed on the platform.

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See this report by Pooja Makkar. 

According to the survey report, 31 percent said that they want a warning sign on food packets. 39 percent want if the food is healthy, then it should have a green or orange sign. There was only 8 percent of people who did not show any interest in any kind of mark.

Packaged food or processed food is also largely responsible for increasing obesity and heart diseases in India. According to the survey, people should get the choice that on the basis of the information, they should decide whether they want to eat their favourite chips or cake by compromising on health or not.

The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed to introduce a system of health star ratings for packaged food. This rating can be given on the basis of the number of things like energy, saturated fat, and sodium. In simple language, this means that if the quantity of high salt, more sugar or vegetable ghee, or oil is high, then the rating of that packet will be reduced. However, there has been a lot of opposition to this system. 

Obviously, the sale of a product will decrease due to the poor rating of these food-related to health. Apart from this, companies also fear that such systems can be twisted by the industry according to their impact, Makkar said.

After protests against the system of giving five-star ratings for good food and one star for unhealthy food, FSSAI talked about bringing a system with a warning sign on the front of the packet. However, from 2013 to 2021, many drafts were made and have been cancelled. There is no warning of too much oil, salt, or sugar on the packet, nor rating according to the stars. However, no consensus has been reached on any system so far and only nutrition information is given backward on the food products sold in India which is often beyond the comprehension of the common man.

According to the Center for Science and Environment NGO, the star rating system is generally manipulated by the industry and except for a few countries like Australia and New Zealand, most countries have rejected it. In some Latin American countries, Canada and Israel, packaged food labels are used as warning which has been found to be more effective.

Usually, in order to get you into a food habit, companies increase the amount of salt in it or make the amount of sugar more than necessary. A packet of chips may contain enough salt to meet your day's need with just one packet, but you end up eating the whole packet in the dizziness of taste and you don't even realize how much salt you have consumed. But now the demand for salt in India is gaining momentum not according to taste but according to health.