Support Strong Food Labelling Regulations and Elimination of Trans Fats in India

Project Background

India is global capital of cardio-vascular diseases due to high level of consumption of various trans fats. The menace of trans fats is huge in India because it is cheap and India being a very price sensitive country, most manufacturers target consumers with low prices and it doesn’t help that there is lax implementation of food laws. There are many gaps in the foods laws in terms of lack of provisions for effective regulations for trans fats especially artificial trans fats and foods with High Fat, Sugar, and Salt (HFSS) in the food supply chain across the county. So this sorry state of affairs must be ended as soon as possible so that hundreds of lives can be saved each day. In a bid to encourage consumers make healthier food choices, Currently the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI); Govt. of India is in the process of bringing a new regulation which is at draft stage, named as Draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018. The first ever-historic opportunity of drafting a regulation is highly opportune. It opens up a chance to engage with the FSSAI and give consolidated clause by clause feedback of the common consumers, key stakeholders and consumer organisations on the draft regulation so that the gaps in the regulation are plugged in the beginning itself.

Goals and Objectives

• Support a strong and effective formulation of the ‘Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018.
• Promote the elimination of industrial produced Trans-fats in India as part of the REPLACE technical package.