Problem with star rating of packaged food

To understand the specifics, a good place to start is with so-called healthy food products. As Indians are beginning to see the troubling consequences of unhealthy eating habits, health awareness is also on the rise. A March 2022 report by Avendus Capital stated that India’s “healthy foods” market is projected to reach $30 billion by 2026, growing at 20% per annum. From ‘diet chivda’ to ‘high-protein biscuits’ and ‘no added sugar juices’, nutrition now seems to be overflowing with many packaged food items.

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But the devil is in the details. Claims of ‘no added sugar’, low cholesterol and low salt may be true, but hide much more than they reveal. For example, low sugar and fat kill the taste, and may force the company to use unhealthy substitutes that simply won’t be revealed. Nutritionist and food expert Mint said that anything processed will not necessarily be healthy, even if it is rated five on five. So they fear that ‘health’ cannot be easily captured in a star label.

chink in armor

First, the basics. FSSAI in September released draft rules on how the rating would work and sought comments from the public. Simply put, the food loses points in terms of energy, sodium, saturated fat and total sugar content. If it has more of the good stuff – fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, millets, fiber and protein. The total score is converted to a star rating (see chart).

But no company can take the score to five stars just by heaping both good and bad. The positive points stop coming when the item crosses the harmful threshold of bad content. But this cap may not be enough.

Rating food items for efficiency isn’t as simple as rating electrical appliances. Healthy ingredients does not mean the absence of unhealthy ingredients that a rating system may miss. Of. Some additives intended to enhance texture, taste, colour, visual appeal or shelf life can have harmful effects, said Srinath Reddy, and star ratings will not be able to capture the balance of acceptable and harmful levels of nutrients. Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the Public Health Foundation of India.

“A few pieces of nuts won’t balance high levels of sugar, salt or unhealthy fats,” Reddy said.

Experts say that even items often claimed to be healthier than conventional alternatives—like molasses over sugar—may not be entirely healthier. Plus, one person’s one-star may not be another person’s one-star, said food writer Krish Ashok. “We all have a different biochemical profile. What suits my health may not suit someone else. For example, a high protein drink is absorbed beautifully by my kidneys,” said clinical dietitian Meher Panjwani. Maybe, but it could load someone else’s kidneys.”

Will it work?

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Indians also have a habit of junk food. Getting our hands off these packets would require major changes unbiased by the commercial interests of the industry. a 2019 study Indian packaged food was found to be the least healthy globally by the George Institute for Global Health. Packaged food from India was the most energy-dense and had the second highest average sugar level after China. It is no surprise then, that non-communicable diseases resulting from unhealthy eating habits contribute to over 60% of deaths in the country. Even though so-called healthy snacking is on the rise in metro cities, junk food remains rampant in India.

This is probably why food advocacy groups say that the proven best practice for such front-of-pack labeling is a ‘warning’ label, as adopted in Chile and Israel. Such labels dissuade a consumer from choosing an unhealthy item, and the negative message has helped reduce junk food consumption, research suggests. But the one star rating proposed in India would have a rather positive message: an item rated 1.5 may be seen as healthier than an item rated 0.5, even though both can harm you. It also fails to educate people about the harmful levels of key components, Reddy said.

Panjwani said the star rating would be misleading and FSSAI should have nutritionists and food technologists who could monitor the cuisine at the factory level. Despite his doubts, Ashok said it was a step in the right direction. This needs to be complemented with better disclosure and labeling rules, he added. “For example, there is a rule that you cannot have different names for sugar/fat, it must be clearly mentioned on the pack as ‘sugar/fat’,” he said. Using complex vocabulary.”

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