Smell Test

Spurious health claims on packaged food can hurt consumers’ health. FSSAI must stay on top of them

A 250ml cup of sugarcane juice can naturally contain over 5 teaspoons of sugar. If you add mango pulp to this juice, and sell the combo as mango juice “with no added sugar”, are you being economical with the truth? That’s one of the questions India’s food safety regulator, FSSAI, is looking into. Among other flags it has raised this time are foods labelled “natural”, “healthy”, “heart-friendly”, etc, without evidence.

But the problem with FSSAI’s campaign against false or misleading health labels is its whack-a-mole approach. It must spot specific product-level violations, and then investigate them individually. When there are thousands of brands of biscuits alone, this approach is too slow to keep up with misselling across the industry. So, what’s needed are clear guidelines about ingredients and claims that cannot be questioned, or exploited as loopholes.

In a country with over 100mn diabetics, and more than twice as many overweight or obese, health consciousness is on the rise. That’s why selling processed food on spurious claims of wholesomeness is growing. Even the West isn’t immune to such tricks, although it’s got a handle on them now. Back in 2006, sodas, chips, ice cream and cookies were being sold as “100% natural” in US. One pitch, especially, raised eyebrows: 7Up claiming to be a natural drink, despite containing high-fructose corn syrup.

Health should always be non-negotiable, and when it comes to food, consumers must have a clear picture of ingredients and their effects. That’s why red herrings – for example, ultraprocessed cereal with high amounts of fat, salt and sugar, but labelled “gluten-free” – should be strictly no-no. False halos, based on unverifiable claims, should be pulled down. While clear guidelines are a first step in this direction, FSSAI should work with bona fide activists and influencers trying to expose the food industry’s malpractices. This fight needs more hands.