FOOD LABELLING: THE MEAT OF THE MATTER

The Delhi High Court's ruling last week insisting on a “full and complete disclosure” of all the ingredients that go into the making of any food item was long overdue as many food articles which have ingredients sourced from animals are passed off as vegetarian by affixing the green dot. Packaged food items are tagged with red (non-vegetarian) and green (vegetarian) tags based on ingredients, in accordance with the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) Rules, 2011. However, dodgy labelling by food business operators makes a mockery of this rule as well as the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations.

For instance, instant noodles, potato chips, ice cream, soft candy and a variety of other soups, sauces and snacks contain an ingredient coded on packaging as E631, which denotes Disodium Inosinate. This chemical adds a meaty or savory flavor to food. In fact, Disodium Inosinate makes food irresistibly tasty and addictive, which is why it is hard to resist a pack of potato chips. But the lay public does not know that this food additive is commercially prepared from meat or fish. Though several such ingredients are used, merely the codes of the ingredients are disclosed, without actually disclosing on the packaging as to what is the source.

Going by the rule book, non-vegetarian food is defined as “an article of food which contains whole or part of any animal including birds, fresh water or marine animals or eggs or products of any animal origin, but excluding milk or milk products, as an ingredient”. Vegetarian food is “any article of food other than nonvegetarian food as defined in regulation”. The plea was filed by Ram Gaua Raksha Dal – a trust working towards the welfare of cows – which claimed that there are certain “non-vegetarian” products that are unknowingly used or consumed by those professing vegetarianism due to the absence of proper disclosure. The members of the trust are said to be followers of the Namdhari sect of Sikhism, which professes strict vegetarianism. Another set of people who swear by strict vegetarianism are the growing community of vegans. New research shows that around a quarter of veggies and vegans have accidentally eaten meat for just that reason. In the UK, an independent survey conducted for Ubamarket found that 52 per cent of people agreed that the complexity of food labels makes it really hard to know what's in our food.

The Delhi HC bench rightly observed that even though the usage of additives may constitute a minuscule percentage, the use of non-vegetarian ingredients would render such food articles non-vegetarian, and would offend the religious and cultural sensibilities / sentiments of strict vegetarians, and hence “interfere in their right to freely profess, practice and propagate their religion and belief”.Striking a blow for consumers, it said that every person has a right to know as to what he / she is consuming and nothing can be offered to the person on a platter by resort to “deceit or camouflage”. It also warned food business operators that such practices would expose them to, inter alia, class action for violation of the fundamental rights of the consuming public and invite punitive damages, apart from prosecution. However, in India, everything comes back to enforcement. The issue would not have cropped up in the first place had the authorities enforced the law. Unfortunately, here the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to shake off the reputation of 'friends of the drug adulterators'. The Delhi HC has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to verify claims made by the food business operators and warned it that the connivance or failure on the authorities' part or its officers to perform their duties shall expose them to claims by the aggrieved parties and prosecution under the law.

Now, that should be food for thought!