The red hexagon is coming for your food packets

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is considering implementing warning labels on packaged food products to alert consumers about high levels of added fat, sugar, and salt. This proposal is part of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS Act) aimed at reducing commercial hardships on Food Business Operators (FBOs) while ensuring transparency for consumers.

FSSAI has proposed a single-phase approach to the implementation of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FoPL) that would use a red hexagon with a white square background to indicate foods high in these nutrients. If a food product contains just one nutrient of concern, it would be displayed inside the hexagon; if multiple nutrients exceed the prescribed thresholds, they would be shown within a single hexagon.

The regulator has suggested setting threshold values for added sugar, added fat, and salt per 100 g/ml, based on recommendations from the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN). Additionally, FSSAI plans to add a warning label "CONTAINS NON CALORIC SWEETENER" on the front of the pack, which is currently found on the back.

The regulator also proposes to adopt the threshold values for added sugar, added fat, and salt per 100 grams/milliliter for the purpose of front-of-pack labelling. Products with high levels of sugar, salt, or fat will have red warning symbols, even if only one ingredient exceeds the limit. The food safety regulator emphasizes that the proposed labelling aims to provide a simple and clear textual indication of the nutrient(s) of concern, rather than using separate pictorial symbols for each nutrient.