Abstract
The rapid rise in prevalence of overweight/obesity, as well as high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and other nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases, has led the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to propose a front-of-package labeling (FOPL) regulation. An effective FOPL system applies a nutrient profile model that identifies foods high in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat that would receive a warning label for consumers to effectively discern between more and less healthy foods. Previous Nutrition Alchemy data collected by the food industry (n = 1306 products) estimated that approximately 96% of foods in India would have at least one warning label based on the FSSAI proposed FOPL. This near universal coverage of warning labels may be inaccurate and misleading. To address this, the current study compared two nutrient profile models, the WHO South-East Asia Region Organization (SEARO) and the Chilean Warning Octagon (CWO) Phase 3, applied to food products available in the Indian market from 2015–2020, collected through Mintel Global New Products Database (n = 10,501 products). Results suggest that 68% of foods and beverages would have at least one ‘ high-in’ level warning label. This study highlights the need to include a more comprehensive sample of food products for assessing the value of warning labels.
Highlights
India faces a major epidemic of diabetes and overweight/obesity among adults, and a growing child obesity problem coupled with a significant problem of stunting and undernutrition [1,2]
Overall, using a much larger and more representative sample of food products, this study found that 68% of food products would receive a high-level warning label and 32%
Would not receive a warning label. This is before the massive reformulation of products that typically occurs after any warning label regulation is implemented [33]
Summary
India faces a major epidemic of diabetes and overweight/obesity among adults, and a growing child obesity problem coupled with a significant problem of stunting and undernutrition [1,2]. High intakes of unhealthy packaged and processed foods are major drivers of overweight and obesity for both children and adults [7,8]. As revealed in a speech made by Prime Minister Modi, the Indian government has aspirations for promoting globally the country’s success in preventive healthcare [9]. To achieve this goal, there is only one major option available as regards interventions proven to promote changes in the packaged processed food supply via reformulation as well as obtaining major changes in purchasing by all socioeconomic classes [10]. Front-of-package labeling (FOPL) systems have been implemented in many countries and are proven to decrease purchases of foods with unhealthy levels of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat
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