Response from office of Prime Minister of India on #FOPL

 Respected Prime Minister jee, 

Greetings from Kashi. 

There is no better time to open debate in public on FoPL than the current time when #COVID pandemic bring public health including children’s health & well-being at center stage of the public discourse and catch the imagination of every Indian as right of health linked with packaged foods in context of right of life with dignity guaranteed under article 21 of Indian Constitution. Because healthy food and nourishment are key for a healthy life. However, changing lifestyles has modified the dietary patterns with increase in the consumption of processed and ultra-processed food that are high on sugar, salt and fats. This in turn has led to an alarming increase in non - communicable diseases (#NCD), resulting in thousands of people losing their lives every year. Considering the seriousness of the issue, the World Health Organization (WHO), has suggested reduction in the daily intake of fats, sugar and salt. 

WHO states that the Front of Pack Labelling (FoPL) is a crucial policy tool for nations to provide healthier food options for citizens, and provides guiding principles and framework manual on FoPL for various regions, including the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) for the South Asia region. NPMs define whether a food product has excessive levels of sugar, salt and fats and state what the threshold is for each nutrient of concern. NPMs can either follow a regional WHO format or be a global best practice decided by experts free from industry influence and any kind of conflicts of interest in the country, based on the country’s nutrition guidelines/diet. 

India became third largest country to consume packaged food by children and adolescents. Our schoolchildren are increasingly becoming overweight or obese. The problem has particularly assumed a public health concern in urban areas and metro cities. In 2017, a study published in the Indian Journal of Public Health experts in Gujarat say 33 per cent of children studying in affluent schools of Rajkot, Gujarat are obese or overweight. So strong Front of Packet Labeling (FOPL) based on scientific research and rigor should be integral part of Comprehensive Nutrition Plan for Maternal, Infant and Young Child. Data from the 4th and 5th NFHS were compared to analyze patterns in three underlying factors for child undernutrition: poor access to food, poor women’s health and child care practices, and poor health and environment. These are commonly accepted as the underlying determinants of undernutrition, which in turn impact the immediate determinants of child undernutrition. 

The Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has constituted a consultative committee, representing government officials, food industry representatives, consumer representatives and civil society organizations to discuss, debate and frame a strong research based FOPL for package food in India. However, the way, the whole process is being allowed to be dominated by food industry to twist and tweak the FOPL standard and design in favour of the food industry, it become far more important that stakeholders working to protect child rights and minimizing risks on child health, should organize and mobilize to voice their concerns and counter the industry lobby. 

Public health experts and doctors, in a recent multistakeholder session on childhood obesity in India, highlighted the need for urgent policy action to establish strong limits for salt, sugar, saturated fats and other harmful ingredients in packaged and ultra-processed food and beverages. With more than 14.4 million obese children, India has the second highest number of children with childhood obesity in the world. By 2025 this number will reach a staggering 17 million. 

As is the trajectory in other developing nations, the proportion of packaged and ultra-processed foods is on the rise. The experts representing leading institutions such as AIIMS, Rishikesh; Indian Academy of Paediatrics and Indian Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences said that the only way to control this growing epidemic of obesity is by establishing scientific cut-off limits for harmful ingredients and front of pack labels (FOPL) on packaged products which can educate the public and help consumers make informed, correct choices. FOPL base on international standard is important for healthy children , youth and mother for better India. 

Set in this context, Government of India will be proposed to mobilize and build national movement of civil society, policy think-tank and independent activist working for protection of Child rights, nutrition and maternal health to counter industry’s opposition of strong FOPL for package food products in India and set up the people’s advocacy to ensure protection of health of children, youth and pregnant & lactating women. There is no better time to open this debate in public than the current time when COVID pandemic bring public health including children’s health & well-being at center state of the public discourse and catch the imagination of every Indian. 

The public discourse around package food needs to be shifted from profiteering food industry and its ability to create employment to securing health of India’s children and safeguarding India’s aspirational population from cardiovascular epidemic. 

Looking forward your kind intervention to bring India as one of best example in this front. 

With Kind regards, -- 

Lenin Raghuvanshi 

Founder and CEO People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) 

SA 4/2 A Daulatpur, Varanasi - 221002 India Mobile no.+91-9935599333 

Email: lenin@pvchr.asia 

Website: www.pvchr.asia ,https://janmitranyas.in/ 

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_Raghuvanshi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Vigilance_Committee_on_Human_Rights 

Blog: www.pvchr.blogspot.com Like us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pvchr 

i https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/spoilt-for-choice-58417

 ii https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-5th-national-family-health-survey-of-india/ 

iii In 2019, the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had proposed an interpretive front of package labels (FOPL) for all packaged foods. The labels included the percentage of recommended daily allowance (RDA) of total calories, saturated and trans-fats, sodium and added sugar per 100gm of foods. The higher than the recommended levels of these nutrients were shown in brown colour. 

iv https://lifestyle.livemint.com/health/wellness/why-food-labels-should-contain-clear-info-on-sugarsalt-and-fats-111622281224158.html


Grievance with Registration No.PMOPG/E/2021/0473597 


Response from PMO as follows:

Sir, Your complaint has been noted. FSSAI is also working to introduce FOPL on packaged food products based on the discussion of the consultative committee in the matter. I t has been decided to commission a survey based study by IIM Ahmedabad to determine the preferential choice of Indian consumers with respect to FOPL. Besides, FSSAI has also notified Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and Healthy Diets for School Children). Regulations, 2019, to ensure safe food and balanced diet for school children in around school. 







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