Sugar industry opposes FSSAI move

In a bid to encourage consumers to make healthier food choices, the draft regulations of FSSAI have a provision that requires packaged food companies to label sugar content of products. This move has been met with stiff opposition from the country’s sugar millers which are already reeling under the double whammy of falling prices and a piling inventory. The suggested FSSAI regulations intend to make it mandatory to display red colour-coding on front-of-the-pack labels of packaged food products that are high in fat, sugar and salt content levels. Currently, most of the packaged food firms print nutritional facts pertaining to the contents, including their recommended daily values, at the back of the package.