How
many times have you doubted the quality
of the food products lying on the shelves of the supermarket say for example how can the consumer judge if
the product sold is as per the regulations or if its doesn’t contain any allergens ,
harmful adulterants or a additive that may be deteriorate to the
human health . Well to ensure the full transparency of the food products
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India; as on 13 December 2016) made the nutrition declaration on packaged
product mandatory.
While
providing the nutritional information the declaration needs to consists of:
-the
energy value
-the
amounts of carbohydrates, Protein, Fats, Sugar and salt present in the
commodity
- Any
potential allergens
Along
with this compulsory nutritional information the information regarding
- mono saturates
- poly saturates
-starch
- fiber
-vitamins
and minerals
Can be
supplemented. Once the mandatory and supplementing nutrients are declared no
other nutrient can be added to this list.
Another
compulsory information to be mentioned on the food commodity is the list of
ingredients used; the nutritional label and ingredient label must be placed in
the close proximity or in the same field of vision.
The
nutritional information must be provided in the tabular form with numbers
aligned to the nutrient. The energy must be expressed in kilo joules (KJ) or
kilo calories (K cal).and the amount of nutrients must be expressed in grams.
All this information must be provided in a clear format without any misleading
information.
Despite
this the leading supermarkets of the state continue to sell the packaged food
commodities without any nutritional labels or ingredients list. This practice is a mockery on the face of the food authorities. But it’s not only the
supermarkets that could be blamed it is due to wrecked and corrupt System that
the manufacturers’ aren’t afraid to play with the lives of the consumers. Let
it be packaged fruits, vegetables, pulses, cereals, sugar or salt everything is
being sold without an appropriate label. The consumer can also be blamed for
it, it is due to sheer ignorance we continue to buy products that can do
serious harm to our health .
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