Beyond the Buzzwords
The front of a package is prime real estate for marketers. It’s where you’ll find appealing pictures and buzzwords like ‘All Natural,’ ‘100% Pure,’ or ‘High Protein.’ While these claims sound promising, they can be misleading. The Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI) has regulations that state any claim must be truthful, unambiguous, and scientifically substantiated. However, many terms are used loosely. For instance, 'natural' can't be used for products that have undergone more than minimal processing, yet it often is. FSSAI has cracked down on brands making ambiguous claims like '100% pure' because they are hard to verify and can mislead consumers into thinking a product is superior. The real story of a product's health is told on the back, in the ingredient list and the nutritional information panel.
Mastering the Ingredient List
The single most important rule for reading an ingredient list is that ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. The first three to five ingredients make up the majority of what you're eating. If sugar, salt, or processed flours are at the top of the list, the product is likely not as healthy as it claims to be. Be wary of hidden sugars, which can appear under many different names like fructose, dextrose, corn syrup, or cane juice. Similarly, a product might contain various forms of salt or fat. According to FSSAI regulations, any additives like preservatives, colours, or flavour enhancers must also be clearly declared. This list gives you a transparent look at what's really inside your food, beyond the attractive front-of-pack claims.
Making Sense of the Nutrition Table
The nutrition facts panel provides a detailed breakdown of a food's contents per 100g/100ml or per serving. This is where you find the specifics on calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, and sugar. One of the most common ways labels can be confusing is through serving sizes. A manufacturer might list a very small serving size to make the calorie and sugar content appear low. Always check the ‘servings per container’ and multiply the nutritional values by the number of servings you actually consume to get an accurate picture. Pay close attention to saturated fat, trans fat, added sugar, and sodium. FSSAI mandates that this information must be clearly provided, so consumers can make informed choices.
What 'Healthy' Claims Really Mean
FSSAI has specific definitions for common health-related claims. Understanding them helps you see past the marketing. For a product to be labelled ‘Sugar-Free,’ it must contain no more than 0.5g of sugar per 100g or 100ml. A ‘Low-Fat’ claim is only permitted if the product has 3g or less of fat per 100g. The claim ‘No Added Sugar’ means no sugar has been added during processing, but the product can still be high in naturally occurring sugars, a fact that must be declared on the label if true. Recently, FSSAI has become stricter, questioning even terms like 'organic' when used to imply a general state of health, as an organic biscuit can still be high in sugar and fat. These rules are in place to ensure that when a brand makes a health claim, it meets a defined standard.
