When you go to a mall and buy a particular food item off the shelf, the first question which strikes your mind is whether, the food is healthy for consumption. But how often do we read the entire details provided in the label? Well, that’s where we face difficulty at times to understand and assess whether a particular food item is safe for consumption. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), keeping in mind the food safety of humans, is planning to roll out a simplified way of front pack labelling by introducing the Health Star rating system.
A study was conducted by the IIM Ahmedabad regarding the methodology to be used to display the health rating of food item in a simplified manner, where it was recommended that star rating system will help consumers to understand whether the food is healthy. Under health star rating system, the ratings are made on the front pack of the food item and these ratings are given within a parameter of one to five stars where the healthy foods are given the maximum stars. At initial stage the FSSAI is planning to make this rating system voluntary from the year 2023 with a transition period of 4 years, after which it is planning to make such declaration mandatory in India.
It seems the star rating system will help consumers in making informed choices, however this system has been opposed by many educational and research specialist, as they are of the view that it might not help consumers in making informed choice rather there are chances that even if a particular food is unhealthy for consumptions, the said food can get a good star rating because of presence of certain healthy ingredients in it. Implementation of star rating system in various countries indicates that it leads the consumers to make bad choices on nutritional value of a particular food item.
While the star rating system is in the pipeline, the question as to whether star rating system in India will be a boon or a bane for the purpose of making informed choices, is still a food for a thought for many of us as individuals and businesses.
The need of the hour in the ever-changing legal and regulatory environment specifically FSSAI laws calls for businesses to adopt and implement best practices under the law. An effective compliance management software enables businesses embrace the change and be compliant.
Lexplosion has been closely following the discussions around Health Star Rating, as it may impact our clients and prospects. Lexplosion’s pioneering compliance management tool, Komrisk, aims to keep our clients sensitized and informed about the changing legal and regulatory landscape. Komrisk enables Industries to be compliant and keep abreast with the on-going regulatory changes in the food sector. To know more, get in touch with us.
Sources:
- Minutes of the Stakeholders’ meeting on Front of Pack Labelling held on 15th February 2022
- Consumer preferences for different nutrition front-of-pack labels in India by IIM Ahmedabad
Written by: Amanya Gangawat
Co Authored by: Anchal Sharma
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