Navigating the landscape of food labeling in India

With consumers' changing lifestyles and consumption patterns, it is imperative to provide truthful and informative details that empower individuals to make informed choices. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased focus on healthy living, consumers rely on food labeling and nutrition information to guide their purchasing decisions. However, there remains a significant gap between the information provided and its accuracy.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken action by issuing warnings and notices to food industry players that violate regulations. Despite these efforts, many food businesses remain non-compliant with food regulations. Many restaurants still do not list calorie counts on their menus, leaving consumers unaware of their consumption. The regulator has also been particular with nutraceutical and health supplement manufacturers that provide false information or sell substandard products.

What are the benefits and challenges of providing accurate food and nutrition information in the food industry, and how is the government prioritizing food safety in India?

Growing Importance of Accurate Food & Nutrition Information

Due to consumers' changing lifestyles and consumption patterns, it has become crucial to provide accurate and truthful food information to empower individuals to make informed choices. The COVID-19 pandemic and the focus on healthy living have further highlighted the need for accurate food labeling and nutrition information.

Gap in Information Accuracy

Despite the efforts of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to enforce regulations, many food businesses remain non-compliant and continue to provide inaccurate and incomplete information on food labels. This is particularly evident in the case of restaurants not listing calorie counts and nutraceutical and health supplement manufacturers providing false information.

Importance of a Structured Food Labeling Method

The current scenario highlights the need for a structured and uniform method of food labeling to prevent consumer confusion and ensure accurate information.

Digitization as a Game-Changer in the Food Industry

Digital food labeling and compliance solutions, such as FoLSol by LabelBlind, offer labeling compliance solutions for food businesses, including imports and exports labeling for nutraceuticals, health supplements, packed food companies, and menu labeling for food service establishments.

The FoLSol digital food labeling software is comprehensive food labeling system benchmarked to international standards and customized to the needs of the Indian food industry; domestic food regulations, the domestic database of packed and raw ingredients, base recipes, standard recipes, calculation methods meeting the business needs of food businesses in India.

Benefits for MSME Food Businesses

For small and medium-sized food businesses with frugal organization structures, digitization of food labeling provides a structured and cost-effective solution to ensure compliance with food labeling requirements and minimize the risk and costs associated with non-compliance.

Government Prioritization of Food Safety

With recent food regulations, including labeling for eCommerce businesses, menu labeling for the food service industry, and front-of-pack labeling draft regulation, the food regulations ecosystem in India is undergoing significant changes. Digital food labeling solutions are reliable to ensure 100% compliance with all food safety measures. The government's continued focus on food safety suggests that we can expect even more measures in the future.