FOOD LABELS – A Guide To Healthy Living

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The unforeseen circumstance of the current pandemic has had a huge impact on people’s relationship with food Individuals have become more conscious of the day-to-day food choices and somehow “immunity” became a household term. The risk perception associated with a sudden disease outbreak can definitely influence food purchase and consumption behaviours. Such is the impact that awareness has not just shifted to what kind of food one should consume but also to lookout for information on packaging and labelling in order toensure they are making the best nutritious food choices. Food labels are an important medium to direct information to the consumers about food items available in the market.

They not only guarantee the freshness or safety of the food but also saves the consumer from purchasing counterfeit products. Food labels carry useful information to help you make informed choices about what foods or drinks to consume.

Types of Food Labels in India

• Nutritional Labelling: The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and labelling) Regulations mandate a nutrition facts label on almost every packaged food and beverage in India. Nutritional Information or nutritional facts per 100 gm or 100ml or per serving of the product shall be given on the label containing the following: —

1. energy value in kcal
2. the amounts of protein, carbohydrate (specify the quantity of sugar), and fat in gram (g) or ml
3. the amount of any other nutrient for which a nutrition or health claim is made.

• Dates: “Best before” means the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage conditions during which the food shall remain fully marketable and shall retain any specific qualities for which tacit or express claims have been made and beyond that date, the food may still be perfectly safe to consume, though its quality may have diminished. However, the food shall not be sold if at any stage the product becomes unsafe. “Date of manufacture” means the date on which the food becomes the product as described

• Declaration regarding Veg or Non-veg packaged food: Non-Vegetarian food means an article of food which contains whole or part of any animal including birds, freshwater or marine animals,eggs or products of any animal origin, excluding milk or milk products, as an ingredient. Every package of “Non-Vegetarian” food shall bear a declaration to this effect made by a symbol and colour code as stipulated below to indicate that the product is Non-Vegetarian food.

• Ingredient list: As the name suggests, the ingredient list label will tell the consumer about each and every ingredient used in the manufacturing of the product including the declaration of food additives, acidity regulator, anticaking agent, bulking agent, colour, emulsifier, flavour enhancer, humectant, preservative, stabilizer, sweetener, or thickener

• Soy Fed Product Label: Right To Protein has newly launched India’s first voluntary feed label –“Soy Fed”.This label is all set to set a new benchmark in India’s animal-protein industry, enabling consumers to make protein-aware choices. Soybean meal is an extremely vital source of protein in the nutrition and nourishment of livestock, poultry, and aquaculture. It not only provides a well-proportioned amino acid profile but also offers a high level of digestibility, which further aids in the growth and development of the animals. The Soy-Fed label assists the consumers to recognize and buy quality protein productsthat are fed soybean meal, thereby empowering protein producers to have a differentiator and citizens to make informed decisions when choosing their animal protein sources

Footnote

Reading food labels can help you make wise food choices. These facts can help you compare foods and choose the healthiest option.

Nmami Agarwal

Author is founder of Nmami Life, a Health & Wellness Company.

For more details logon to www.nmami.in or follow @nmamilife

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