Workshop in Madhya Pradesh on Food Labeling
Workshop in Madhya Pradesh on Food Labeling
Food Labels: Understanding them
Food Labels: Understanding them
Workshop on Food Labelling West Bengal
Workshop on Food Labelling West Bengal
Consumer VOICE, organised a sensitization workshop on Importance of Food Labeling at Bamanpukur Humayun Kabir Mahavidyala Bamanpukur,West Bengal along with state partner organisation Honcho Tech for Good Foundation on the 10th of September. The workshop aimed at creating awareness among students community (also consumers) regarding importance of food labelling ,their right to choose healthy food products , to discuss about impact of non-communicable diseases.
An exhaustive presentation on NCDs (non-communicable diseases) was shown to the participants where they were briefed on the harmful effects of salt, sugar and fats. Unhealthy packaged foods are risking the lives of many Indians as more and more people are falling prey to High BP, diabetes or obesity. Consumption of packaged foods is on the rise in India, and therefore reading labels is very crucial so that consumers can make an informed choice.
The workshop was followed with a question-answer session where students asked some interesting questions like will it help them to reduce weight or will it help them to avoid some non-communicable diseases as they grow up. IEC materials were also distributed among the students.
We witnessed active participation and enthusiasm among all participants in the workshop. More than 80 people including students, teachers and staff joined the workshop.
Sustainable Healthy Foods for the consumers – Right to choose healthy foods
Sustainable Healthy Foods for the consumers – Right to choose healthy foods
India is termed the diabetes capital of the world with the diabetic population in the country estimated to hit 69.9 million by 2025 and 80 million by 2030 – an increase of 266%.
In India, nearly 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 20 children are classified as overweight or obese. Rates are increasing faster in India than the world average, and obesity prevalence is expected to more than triple by the year 2040, without intervention.
Nearly 63% of total deaths in India are due to non-communicable diseases, of which 27% are attributed to cardiovascular disease which affects 45% people in the 40-69 age group.
Evidence increasingly indicates that growing worldwide consumption of ultra-processed junk foods and sugary drinks is a major driver of the global obesity epidemic — including childhood obesity — and increases in prevalence of other nutrition-related diseases. Scientific evidence highlights foods and beverages providing energy high in added sugar, sodium, saturated fat and any added trans-fat – which are referred to as nutrients of concern, have a detrimental impact on health.
Front-of-package labels are an evidence-based policy tool, backed by decades of research showing that they can effectively nudge consumers towards healthier foods and drinks while also encouraging industry to improve the nutritional profile of the products they sell. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends FOPL as a key policy to promote healthy diets and reduce NCD prevalence worldwide.
Most consumers are unaware of the presence of critical nutrients on food packets and how to read food labels. FOPL will help consumers understand and read labels and make informed choices.
About the Project
Consumers have the right to choose healthy foods that are low in salt, sugar and fats through correct information. Front of Pack Labelling (FOPL) is an effective tool which provides consumers information and alerts them about unhealthy ingredients, and helps consumers to choose healthy products. Through this project we are aiming to empower consumers by informing and educating them about Front of Label Packaging (FOPL) as most of the consumers are unaware about food labels. Most consumers are not aware of the presence of salt, sugar, and fats on packaged foods and are therefore unable to make informed choices. Using Front of Pack Lables (FOPL), consumers can make informed and healthy food choices. They can choose foods that are low on fats, sugar and salt.Objectives
- To inform and educate consumers about importance of Front Of Pack Labelling (FOPL) and enable them to make informed and healthy choices.
- To sensitize consumers and help them correctly and quickly identify products that contain excessive amount of sugars, fats, and salt.
- To empower consumers and help them distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods and make the right choice.
Strategy
- Consumer sensitization through workshops and train the trainer workshops to spread awareness about food labels.
- Media sensitization through regional and online coverages.
- Short videos will help in amplification of messaging on how to choose healthy foods
- Social media campaign through various stakeholders such as consumer organisations, public health experts, nutrionists and research professionals that will help in reaching to consumers and create a buzz
- Development and distribution of IEC materials in different languages so that more consumers can be sensitized .
Expected Outcomes
- Consumers will be sensitized on food lables and how to identify presence of critical nutrients on food packets.
- Consumer workshops and awareness through various digital tools will help reach a greater audience and videos in different languages will help consumers understand the importance of food labels and make healthy and informed choices.
- Consumers will ask for healthier food choices for a better and fitter healthy life
- Consumers can quickly identify foods that are High in Salt, Sugar and Fats and make informed choice.
CAMPAIGN UPDATES
Workshop in Delhi-NCR on Food Labeling
Consumer VOICE, organized a sensitization workshop on Importance of Food Labeling at Dayanand Secondary School, Vivek Vihar… Read More
Workshop in Gujarat on Food Labelling
Consumer VOICE organised an interactive workshop with the students on 7th November with the support of our Gujarat State Partner… Read More
Workshop in Madhya Pradesh on Food Labeling
In collaboration with Consumer VOICE, New Delhi, a sensitization workshop on food labeling was organized on 1st October… Read More
Workshop on Food Labelling West Bengal
Consumer VOICE, organised a sensitization workshop on Importance of Food Labeling at Bamanpukur Humayun Kabir Mahavidyala Bamanpukur,West Bengal along with state… Read More
ARTICLES
Food Labels: The Need and Importance!
To find the greatest deal, shoppers frequently examine the costs of foods in the grocery store. Read More
Food Labelling Can Help Prevent NCDs
India faces equally difficult issues with regard to food, nutrition, and health. About 5.87 million of all fatalities worldwide. Read More
Food Labels: Look at them!
Meera and her mother were shopping. She requested her favourite soft drink and snacks. Her mother, however, suggested that she eat something wholesome. Read More
Food Labels: Understanding them
Food label consists of necessary information about the total amount of product contained in a packet, its composition and ingredients. Read More
Devising a healthy trans-fat free life
Devising a healthy trans-fat free life
The growing incidence of non-communicable diseases is a wakeup call for us to ensure we create a safer food system and understand why trans fats is a critical challenge for our country, writes Shri Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI.
As the world is advancing and systems are getting complexed, food choices are also changing drastically all over the world. Today, with rapid urbanisation and changing lifestyle, dietary patterns have shifted towards pre-packed, frozen and fast foods including fried and desserts etc- those are high in salt, sugar, fats and even trans fats.
Consumption of trans-fat alone acts as a significant risk factor for coronary heart disease events and mortality. Globally, eliminating industrially produced trans-fatty acids can save 17 million lives over the next 25 years. It is considered the worst type of fat one can consume. Foods being prepared with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (Vanaspati, margarine and bakery shortening) generally contain trans fats.
In India, a variety of foods are prepared using these materials e.g., sweets (Jalebi, laddu etc.), bakery products (fan, patty, puff, cake, pastry etc.), which may contain trans fats. Furthermore, re-heating cooking oils can lead to formation of small amounts of trans fats; not only at commercial outlets but even at household levels. It also leads to formation of Total Polar Compounds (TPC) which are toxic in nature and cause severe health hazards such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, liver diseases etc.
Reduction of trans-fats is an absolute must and the entire world is making efforts in this direction. WHO has mandated all countries to bring down the levels of trans-fats from the food supply up to 2 per cent by the year 2023.
Thus, there is an utmost need to provide a healthy food environment that is trans-fat free to enable people to adopt and maintain healthy dietary intakes. FSSAI has used a multi-pronged approach towards constituting a “Healthy India”. On one side, the Food Regulator is bringing regulations and persuading food businesses to limit the fat, sugar and salt content in foods, and eliminate TFA, while on the other side, through the Eat Right initiative and awareness programmes, FSSAI is trying to generate alertness among consumers to reduce the consumption of foods containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt.
What India is doing?
Triple Action Strategy
India has taken a big leap towards trans-fat elimination by adopting the triple action strategy for reducing trans fats consumption. The strategy includes: Enforcement, Engagement and Awareness.
Enforcement
India took a step forward in following the WHO’s call to eliminate industrially produced trans-fat from the food supply. FSSAI has taken up the trans-fat issue at the priority with cohesive efforts directed towards best practices and policy framework. To control increased risk of non-communicable diseases, Regulation on Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Tenth Amendment Regulations, 2020 has been notified to limit industrial TFA (trans fatty acids) to not more than 3 per cent in all fats and oils by January 2021 and not more than 2 per cent by January 2022.This regulation has also been extended to all food products (having edible oil/fat as an ingredient), to limit industrial Trans Fatty Acids to 2 per cent from 1st January, 2022 under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Second Amendment Regulations, 2021.
Another important aspect is to ensure that school children and youngsters develop healthy eating practices. Keeping this in mind, FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Safe food and balanced diets for children in school) Regulations, 2020. With effect from 1st July, 2021, it restricts the availability of foods high in saturated fat or trans-fat or added sugar or sodium in school campus or within 50 metres of the schools. This regulation prohibits the advertisement or marketing of food products, high in saturated fats or trans-fats or added sugar or sodium within school campuses or within fifty meters radius. It also promotes consumption of safe and balanced diet in and around school campus. A general guidance document for providing safe food and balanced diets and selection of right food items for children is also provided in the regulation.
While the regulatory action is mandatory, but regulations alone don’t really win any such kind of war, especially when it comes to changing behaviour.
Engagement
To achieve a country free of industrially produced trans fats, FSSAI is constantly working towards nudging food businesses to identify new technologies and ingredients to eliminate trans fats from the food supply chain. Engagement with all these stakeholders will ensure that trans-fat free or low trans-fat products are made available to people.
However, there are certain challenges associated with hand holding and educating stakeholders to comply with the regulation on elimination of trans fat. FSSAI had initiated the campaign “India@75: Freedom from trans fats” that aims to bring all stakeholders together and to ease the implementation. A series of technical sessions/webinars have been conducted to sensitize stakeholders like industry associations, bakers and food businesses, chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers, edible oil industry, sweet and namkeen manufacturers, laboratory networks and academic institutions. Each webinar was planned to target specific target audience focusing on challenges faced by them towards making a shift to trans-fat free products and doable solutions through talks/sessions deliberated by global experts.
Awareness
Elimination of trans-fat is a vital part of the “Eat Healthy” pillar of the Eat Right India movement. In addition to regulations on limiting trans-fats and engagement with stakeholders, FSSAI uses various mediums such as social media platforms, videos, public service messages, Eat Right Melas etc. to make consumers aware about the harmful effects of trans-fat and its elimination. It is extremely important to provide information to the public because unless they know what they are consuming they can’t make any informed choice.
Some of the action areas include:
- Mass awareness campaigns to reduce salt, fat and sugar in the diet, – like ‘Aaj Se Thoda Kam’ and ‘Trans-Fat Free India by 2022’ and encourage consumers to voluntarily cut down on salt, sugar and saturated fat levels.
- Dedicated webpage under the Eat Right India website to make people aware about harmful effects of trans fats on our health.
- A mass media public service campaign, “Heart Attack Rewind”- a 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA)with an aim to create awareness about the harmful effects of trans fat by, reducing acceptability of industrially produced (IP) trans-fat in foods, building public support for government action to eliminate IP trans-fat and leading consumers to the FSSAI website to seek more information about trans-fat.
A ‘trans-fat free’ logo was launched in October 2020, which can be voluntarily used by food business operators to empower consumers to make right food choices. Food establishments which use trans-fat free fats/oil and do not have industrial trans-fat more than 0.2g/100g of food, in compliance with the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018 can display “Trans-fat free” logo in their outlets and on their food products. This is marked as an important milestone in the movement against trans-fats.
Recently, FSSAI carried out a baseline survey in the month of June-2021 for presence of industrially produced trans-fatty acid content in the select food categories in partnership with Quality Council of India (QCI). Samples of various packaged food items under six pre-defined food categories were collected from 419 cities/districts across 34 States/UTs. Overall, only 84 samples, i.e.1.34 per cent, have more than 3 per cent industrially produced trans fats from the total of 6,245 samples. This shows that the industry is on the right trajectory of becoming industrial trans-fat free in the 75th year of India’s independence.
What is needed?
FSSAI has been taking several measures to tackle the issue of trans fats, with an organised approach to ensure India achieves its target and create a model where everyone understands the problem of trans fats. However, to make it successful, specific steps need to be taken other stakeholders. FSSAI is providing technical assistance to specific stakeholders to move towards trans-fat elimination.
Fat/oil manufacturers are being nudged to make technological advancements adopted globally and the most appropriate method to eliminate trans-fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils/fats e.g. setting up interesterification plants etc.
Sweet and namkeen manufacturers are being encouraged to maintain fat/oil quality and reduce the formation of trans fats during food preparation with the halwais and sweet manufacturers.
Bakers and food businesses: FSSAI has appraised the bakery and packaged food sector about the regulation and the trans-fat free sticker/logo by FSSAI. FSSAI also connected FBO’s with the edible oil industry to introduce the trans-fat free fats that can be used to reduce/eliminate the trans-fat content in their products.
Analytical laboratories: FSSAI is in the process of strengthening the laboratory capacity for assessing trans-fats in fats/oil/foods as per the global standards. In this regards FSSAI connected the labs with experts from WHO headquarters to introduce the newly launched global protocol for assessment of trans fatty acid.
Chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers: FSSAI has always highlighted the crucial role of chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers in providing healthy food options without trans-fat. To strengthen the skills of Chefs, restaurateurs, and hoteliers, FSSAI organised webinars, specifying strategies to replace trans-fat by choosing healthier cooking oil and altering cooking techniques, which are easy to adopt and benefit in the long run.
To keep up the momentum, FSSAI will continue to rigorously monitor and ensure full compliance at field level by engaging intensively with food businesses; capacity building programmes targeted towards food businesses; augmenting lab capacity to accurately measure and monitor trans fats in foods; and to achieve the goal of freedom from trans -fat by 2022.
Unlocking True Potential of Pre-Owned Car Industry post COVID-19
Unlocking True Potential of Pre-Owned Car Industry post COVID-19
The mushrooming of the pre-owned car industry over the past few years has resulted in the growth of various players who act as intermediaries in the transaction between buyer and seller, including online marketplaces. However, it is important to note that there are no regulatory provisions for these intermediaries although they are at the center of transactions for pre-owned cars and trade the car multiple times before it is eventually registered in the name of the ultimate owner.
The Motor Vehicle Act, which is the current law on sale, purchase and registration of motor vehicles has been unable to keep up with the changing dynamics in the market, particularly with respect to the role played by intermediaries. Therefore, it is imperative that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) revisits the provisions of law, particularly because in absence of any regulatory framework, the operation of the market leads to many concerns.
Chase India, a leading public policy research and advisory firm, and Consumer VOICE, a prominent consumer-centric voluntary organization, today released a comprehensive industry report highlighting the need to define the motor vehicle intermediary as well as regulating and providing policy clarity for the exponential growth of the sector. The report titled, “Unlocking True Potential of Pre-Owned Car Industry post COVID-19”, advocates to build a robust and resilient policy ecosystem for the used car industry.