Guidelines & Legality on Labelling of Food Products

In-House Counsel

Guidelines & Legality on Labelling of Food Products

Umansh Sharma | December 2021

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous body established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. It usually sets standards for food so that there is no chaos in the minds of consumers, traders, manufacturers and investors.

In the food and beverage packaging, there is one important aspect called food labelling. On the food labelling, there are crucial aspects related to the product and even of the producer. The information is usually for the safety of the consumer and it is mandatory that every packaged food article has to be labelled and it shall provide the following information

In this article, we shall discuss on “FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products”. Hence, the various characteristics which should be mentioned are:

NAME OF THE FOOD

Name of the food/product is one of the first FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products. As the name suggests, the name of the food product should be in clear format on the packaged product in clear font.

LIST OF INGREDIENTS

List of Ingredients means the elements which have been utilized for making the final product. It is very necessary that the manufacturer mentions all the ingredients fairly and do not cheat the end-consumer. The manufacturer can land in problem if tends to cheat the consumer.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutritional Information means the calories which gets from fats, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron present in the product. The calories are mentioned on all the products labels.

DECLARATION REGARDING VEGETARIAN OR NON-VEGETARIAN

India is land where the eating of non-vegetarian for some is against the religious practices. Hence, according to the FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products, the manufacturer on the label should mention whether the product is vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

Whether the product is vegetarian or non-vegetarian can easily be known by just looking at the small sign present on the corner of the label. Green colour indicates the product being vegetarian and red colour indicates that the product is non-vegetarian.

DECLARATION REGARDING FOOD ADDITIVES

Food additives are substances which are added to food in order to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. Hence, it is very necessary to give a declaration regarding the additives added on the label or the package.

NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE MANUFACTURER

In this, the name of the manufacturer and place of the manufacturing is usually mentioned. The manufacturer has to give complete address of his factory which includes street address, city, state, and zip code. Without mentioning any of these, products can be considered fake in the market.

NET QUANTITY

Net Quantity is also FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products. Net Quantity here refers to the weight of the product. The weight of the product and the packaging weight are usually combined together and then mentioned in the Net Quantity.

CODE NO./LOT NO./BATCH NO

A batch number or code number or lot number is a mark of recognition through which the food can be found in the manufacture and even recognized in the distribution. Therefore, the Code No./Lot No./Batch No should be definitely mentioned by the manufacturer according to FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products.

DATE OF MANUFACTURE AND BEST BEFORE & USE BY DATE

The date of manufacture is when the product has been manufactured and Best Before & Use by Date means by what date and month should the product be consumed. If the product is consumed after expiry date, it usually can harm the health of the human.

The consumer also should check Date of Manufacture and Best Before & Use by Date before purchasing the product.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN FOR IMPORTED FOOD

The country of origin of goods means the nationality of imported goods and even refers to the area where such goods have grown up or have been produced, manufactured or processed.

According to the FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products, this also should be mentioned.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

According to FSSAI Guidelines on Labelling of Food Products, the Instructions for Use should be mandatorily mentioned. As the name suggests, it usually instructing or guiding the consumer on how to utilize the product.

NEW REGIME OF FOOD LABELLING

The present Regulations come with a host of new requirements viz. mandatory declaration of allergen information, per serve contribution of nutrients to recommended dietary allowances (RDA), expiry date (by making best before declaration optional), new logo and symbols for non- veg and food items not meant for human consumption, etc. Under the new Regulations, even e-commerce platforms are required to provide for mandatory labelling of food products offered for sale through their platform with certain exceptions. Further the new regime has also brought restaurant operators with large chain of networks within its scope. An analysis of these new changes is narrated below.
Under the new Regulations when a food product is sold over an e-commerce platform or any other direct selling means, all mandatory declarations in the label are to be provided to consumers through appropriate means before sale except certain variable declarations like batch number/lot number, best before, use by date, expiry date and date of manufacturing/packing.
This change was more or less expected as similar amendment putting onus on e-commerce entities to provide labelling information was implemented earlier in the LMPC Rules from January 2018 [vide GSR 629(E) dated 23-06-2017]. By virtue of the new Regulations, now e-commerce portals would be additionally required to ensure that labels fulfilling the requirements under the food regulations are posted or shown on their portals prior to a seller offering his food products for sale online.
The Regulations, however, do not prescribe a specific mode of display or insist that these declarations are required to be separately provided in the portal but uses the words “provided to the consumer through appropriate means”. Therefore, it is likely that e-commerce portals will be able to cover this labelling requirement by posting pictures of all sides of the food packages on their portal so that a consumer could verify all sides of the food package online and review the statutory declarations given on the pack prior to purchase. This would ensure that all labelling under the LMPC Rules and the Regulations are covered by e-commerce platform simultaneously upon placing products for online sale.
However, unlike in the LMPC Rules, the Regulations does not provide for exemption of liability to e-commerce platforms in case of incorrect declarations or any omissions in providing mandatory declarations by a seller. These platforms therefore may have to look for safe harbor provisions provided for online market place under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2004 by ensuring satisfaction of conditions mentioned therein.

PENALTY FOR CONTRAVENTIONS

Anyone who breaches any provision of the FSS Act or the Rules and Regulations made by it will be liable to pay a penalty up to Rs. 2 lakhs but for this officially there is no prescribed penalty in the Act. Offenses under FSSAI Act are mandatory for all to follow.

PENALTY FOR FALSE INFORMATION

Anyone who is in conjunction with the direction or requirement under the FSS Act provides any information or produces any false or misleading documents will be punished with an imprisonment term up to three months along with a fine up to Rs. 2 lakhs.

About Author

Umansh Sharma

Umansh Sharma is an Assistant Manager-Legal and Compliance at Tata Starbucks Private Limited. Having a rich and diverse experience of around 11 Years in areas of Regulatory Compliance, Litigation, Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Security. As a part of the regional team, does actively works on projects and assignments having regional impact. Keen to learn new things and equally passionate about expressing views by publishing articles on various platforms.