SYMBOL BASED LABELING-NEED FOR A NEW INITIATIVE

One of the critical questions that haunt the policy makers all over the world is whether the consumers are able to get the much needed information about the products they are buying from the market and this has led to mandatory front of the pack labeling in food products manufactured and marketed by the industry. When it comes to food labeling, it is supposed to educate the consumer regarding various critical parameters like weight, price, manufacturing date, expiry date, ingredient details, nutritional content and any other information relevant to the products in side the pack. There are two constraints that restrict the real utility of labeling, especially in developing countries. First most consumers are not literate, especially in English making the declaration irrelevant to them. Second the significance of nutritional content declaration is some what blurred by the relative ignorance about their connection to good health. It is here that symbol based labeling becomes helpful. Some countries have already introduced traffic light symbols to distinguish foods which are bad from the health angle from those considered health-friendly. It is felt that such symbol based labels are much more relevant in developing countries and this has been well articulated by the premier nutrition agency, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in India recently.

The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has proposed changes to labeling regulations for food packaging in India to one that is symbol-based, to ensure the majority of the Indian population understands the product nutrition information communicated. According to NIN scientist Dr G M Subba Rao, while food labelling regulations in India are on par with that of developed countries such as the US and UK, a recent study conducted by NIN with support from WHO-India has revealed that there is still a pattern of poor label comprehension amongst Indian consumers. One of the main reasons is the low level of literacy prevalent in India. However, even amongst the better-educated consumers, the problem of low label comprehension persists due to a lack of nutrition literacy – a problem also present in developed nations. Food labelling is essential in promoting healthy eating habits and increasing consumer nutrition knowledge in a country plagued by an increase in obesity and other related diseases, says Rao. "Food labelling should be considered an important approach to help consumers make healthy food choices by providing nutrition information on the pack," he explains. "We have therefore suggested emphasis be given to exploring and experimenting with symbol-based labelling on food packs so as to provide nutrition education to all sections of the society." Indian labelling regulations were last updated in 2007, when the government decreed that all processed foods have food labelling as part of a national programme promoting cardiovascular health.

If one goes by the experience of wealthy countries where such symbol based labeling is in vogue, consumer indifference to the nutritional value of foods in preference to taste and flavor is making the labeling transparency some what ineffective. How far traffic light system of labeling has helped the western population is still uncertain as it may take some time to assess its impact. Added to this uncertainty the food industry is not playing a fair game by not willingly adopting such progressive measures. It is true as one of the top industry captains said recently that consumers must decide what type of foods they want from the industry and it is the responsibility of the former to lead a healthy life by buying only good foods. But to do this consumer needs the help of the industry to tell which foods are healthy and which ones are unhealthy and symbol based labeling is nothing but a way of communication with the consumer.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
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