‘High in Sugar’: Can front-of-pack warnings on products change how India buys food off the shelves?

Most of us go through bouts of turning to a healthy lifestyle more often than not. And piggybacking on this thought is the urge to walk down the aisle of a supermarket and pick from appropriately tagged shelves. But are these nutrition stickers speaking the whole truth? Anybody trying to switch to a healthy lifestyle is almost always drifting away from ‘sugars’ and ‘fats’. Would a prominent label on the front of a product make a difference in the consumer buying behaviour?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) an estimated 77 million people above the age of 18 years are suffering from type-2 diabetes in India, and nearly 25 million are prediabetics, which brings them to a higher risk of developing diabetes. The report highlights, “More than 50% of people are unaware of their diabetic status which leads to health complications if not detected and treated early.” Well, we may want to believe that we are successful in decoding much of what is printed on products, but let us have some expert intervention to make or break or solidify our beliefs.

“Front-of-pack labelling is a simple nutrition information display on the front of a food package. This is easy to see and understand for the consumer. Using colours, symbols or warning signs on the front side of the packaged food with information related to high sugar, salt, and fat can help consumers make informed choices,” says Ritika Samaddar, Nutrition And Dietetics, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket.

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Meanwhile,senior dietician Divya Jain from CK Birla Hospitals, Jaipur emphasises, “Eye-catching labels that are placed at the front of a product contain essential information; they identify the healthiest products by their sugar, salt or trans-fat content. Alone, they are not going to prevent lifestyle-related diseases, but they are going to help change people's mindsets as well as behaviour when deciding which products they should and should not buy. Alongside other measures like consumer education and better food choices, these labels can make a real difference.”

Are we sensitised about these labels, do we know enough? While most of us may not be oblivious, deep knowledge may not be served on a platter either. Dr Prachi Chandra, Lead Clinical Nutritionist, Sakra World Hospital, has rightly put,“A consumer needs a degree in nutrition to decode an ingredient list. Front-of-pack labels change that; they are critical because current back-of-pack information is complex, technical, and rarely read. In a country like India where 65% of packaged foods are high in fat, sugar or salt, a simple, prominent warning symbol on the front acts as an instant decision-making tool at the point of purchase. It democratises nutrition information.”

Also mentioning how a bold warning that says 'high in sugar' or 'high in salt' helps a mother, a teenager or an elderly person instantly understand the risk and is also useful for consumers who may have limited nutrition literacy or little time to interpret complex labels. If informed correctly, we can maybe change our buying pattern and avert a bad lifestyle to an extent in this fast-paced life. These changes lead as a formative step towards preventing lifestyle diseases at a population level.