Ensure front-of-pack warning labels: Health experts urge FSSAI

The owner of a supermarket waits for customers in front of shelves of food items in Cairo, Egypt, October 26, 2016. Picture taken October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTSUK10

International health experts have urged the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to ensure that all food items and beverages have front-of-pack warning labels to help consumers make informed decisions.

According to experts, excessive consumption of foods and beverages high in trans-fat, sodium, added sugar and saturated fat are a major cause of heart disease, stroke and premature deaths in India and around the world.

Consumers need to have the right information to be able to make informed decisions about what they eat, professor of nutrition at University of North Carolina, Dr Barry Popkin said in a statement.

Dr Popkin is one of the 28 international health and nutrition experts who have jointly submitted suggestions to the FSSAI in a letter written on June 13.

He said governments around the globe consider mandatory front-of-pack warning labels an effective and evidence-based way to improve diets.

This is an opportunity for India to join a growing list of countries that have taken decisive steps to prevent diseases and save lives, said Director of CUTS International George Cheriyan and a member of the FSSAI's Central Advisory Committee.

He said it is the right time to upgrade food labelling policies to reflect best international practices for a healthy India.

The FSSAI has committed to limit the amount of trans-fat in oils from the current permitted level of 5 percent to 2 percent by 2022.

In 2015, the amount of trans-fat in oils was brought down from 10 percent to the current 5 percent.