Front-of-pack labels should display sugar, salt content: Cong MP

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan on Wednesday urged the government to mandate prominent, front-of-pack labelling of sugar, salt and additives on packaged food, backed by a colour-coded system to make nutritional information easier for consumers to understand.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Ranjan warned of a growing public health crisis linked to unhealthy food habits.

Citing data from the Indian Council of Medical Research, she said around 100 million people in India are suffering from diabetes. She also referred to findings of the National Family Health Survey, which indicate that nearly one in four adults in the country is obese.

“This is not just data, it is a warning that food habits are making us unhealthy,” she said.

Calls out poor labelling practices

Ranjan said while packaged food products do carry nutritional information, it is often printed in small fonts on the back of packets and written in complex terms, making it difficult for ordinary consumers to interpret.

“The problem is not absence of information, but lack of understandable information,” she said.

Push for colour-coded system

She proposed a front-of-pack labelling system using red, yellow and green colour codes to indicate high, medium or low levels of key ingredients such as sugar, salt and fats.

“If the front of the packet itself uses colour codes, any person can easily understand what they are consuming,” she said.

Seeks policy intervention

The Congress MP urged the government to introduce a clear and effective policy mandating such labelling, with information displayed prominently in large and simple formats.

She also asked that India align its labelling framework with recommendations of the World Health Organization, which advocates simplified nutritional warnings to help tackle non-communicable diseases.

The demand comes amid increasing focus on preventive healthcare and rising concerns over lifestyle-related illnesses linked to diet.