Regulations pertaining to labelling of packaged food soon: FSSAI

Food regulator FSSAI today said the regulations pertaining to labelling of packaged food products are being framed and will be issued soon.

"As far as labelling is concerned, one is packaged food's labelling whose regulations are being framed. Now main issue that is cropping up in this is which food will be called healthy and which food will be called not so healthy," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Agarwal said.

"Industry views, scientific/medical community views on this are being reconciled after which labelling regulations will be issued soon," he told reporters here while replying to a question.

A workshop was organised here to sensitise the local media about the importance of food fortification.

"As far as restaurant food is concerned, where fixed menu is there or what we called Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), menu labelling can be done, but where chef prepares food, menu labelling is almost impossible," he said.

"However, gradually menu labelling has been implemented in some countries, including recently in the United States," the CEO said.

Taking into account their experience, there is a proposal in India for restaurants having chain of more than 20 outlets for having menu labelling in QSRs with fixed menu.

"Regulations in this regard are being framed and will be issued soon," Agarwal said.

He said the Women and Child Development Ministry and the HRD Ministry have already committed to provide fortified staples in mid-day meal scheme, in Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programmes, double fortified salt has been mandated three years ago.

When asked about some controversies surrounding food fortification, Agarwal said, "In fact, globally fortification is the main and easiest way of addressing micro nutrient deficiencies practiced over hundreds of years, it is not new... if our nutrition problem gets solved by adding fortificant and if for this we have to import, what is the harm."