Pooja BalajiSingnale and Hrusikesh Panda

What is Front-of-pack Nutrition Labeling (FOPNL)?
As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), it is a form of supplementary nutrition information that presents simplified nutrition information on the front-of-pack of pre-packaged foods. It can include symbols/graphics, text or a combination thereof that provides information on the overall nutritional value of the food and/or on nutrients included inthe FOPNL.

Why it’s important?
Nutrition labels advise consumers on packaged foods' nutritional content and their contribution to the overall composition of the diet.  They have been suggested as a means of promoting healthy diets and as a fundamental tool in the prevention of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).The recent largest National Survey (National Family Health Survey-5) conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reported the prevalence of overweight and obesity among women (24%), and men (22.9%), the prevalence of diabetes among women (13.5%) and men (15.6%), and also the prevalence of hypertension among women (21.3%) and men (24%) respectively.  Excess intake of energy, sugars, salt and saturated fats is an important causal factor of obesity and related non-communicable diseases.

What about High Fat, Sugar, Salt Foods (HFSS)?
It means a processed food product which has high levels of saturated fat or total sugar or sodium. The declared values of these ingredients are such that the product does not satisfy the value of energy (kcal) from total sugar less than 10 percent of total energy, or from saturated fat 10 percent of total energy, and sodium less than 1 mg/1 kcal”(FSSAI)…read more on NOPR