Food Packaging Design Soon Need Space for “Health Star” Rating

Last Updated on June 25, 2022 by DesignerPeople

The Food Safety and Standard Authorities of India (FSSAI) has come up with new guidelines on the food packaging design, which will witness a new beginning in the FMCG sector. The package food Industry in India will have to adopt a “health-star” rating system for their FMCG products.

What is FSSAI ?

FSSAI is an acronym for “Food Safety and Standard Authorities of India”, established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. FSSAI can be defined as a statutory body that has been created for implementing science related standards for commodities of food and to control their manufacture, distribution, storage, sales and import to ensure the availability of safe and beneficial food for human consumption.

The body was launched in 2008 and has been functional since 2011 to manage food safety in India. The body integrates different regulations and orders on food-related issues in the country.

As per the FSSAI rules, every food business enterprise must apply for an FSSAI license to sell their products in the country. However, the license is exempted if your business has an annual turnover below 12 lakhs or if the manufacturing capacity falls under 100 kgs.

The rating system will be a new form in a country like India, and the FSSAI is taking strict regulations to guide people to choose healthy food. According to the food consumption data, 93% of children and adults consume packaged food more than once a week. Also, 59% eat packaged foods and beverages at least once a day without knowing the production source and health standards leading to obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart ailments, diabetes and hypertension. ( Source )

The growth statistics after the COVID-19 pandemic states that people’s attitude toward food habits changed due to an unhygienic lifestyle resulting loss of lives. It was one of the primary reasons that made FSSAI come up with such an initiative.

Fighting Against Unhealthy Packaged Food

The FSSAI has introduced critical guidelines for curbing the consumption of foods in the last year itself. It results in the prevention of non-communicable diseases to a great extent. Authorities took specific actions in schools, college canteens, and nearby shops selling junk foods. Around 80 per cent of the shops have reduced it and are not selling packaged foods high in sugar, salt and other fried food products.

According to various studies, increasing obesity among Indians is also due to the consumption of unhealthy packaged foods. The authorities also stated that they would appoint agencies to generate awareness among customers and influence their purchasing decision.

There will also be conditions for promoting junk foods in advertisements and other digital platforms in the coming years. Though the system of mentioning nutritional information on the backside of packaging is there, many brands often miss it. The FSSAI is taking strict action to start an investigation and take stern measures against brands that are not following it. However, as per the new HSR format, packaged foods are ranked based on nutritional content and will showcase the rating on the front side of the package.

Also Read: STEPS IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT FOOD BRAND NAME

What is FSSAI “Health Star” Rating?

The FSSAI health star rating system is a new form in packaged foods where brands will display the number of stars they received for each product on the front side of the packaging or label of any food product. The ingredients used and other nutritional information help indicate how healthy or unhealthy the product is.

The Health Star Rating (HSR) format ranked a packaging design food based on sugar, salt, fat, and other ingredients. In this system, ½ star to 5 stars is given to the product depending on its nature and quality. Even if your product has high ingredients such as nuts, fruits, and cereals, the usage of ingredients that include saturated fat, calories, and sodium will also be calculated while ranking the packaged product.

Why Food Packaging Design soon have a “Health Star”?

The authorities seriously took the initiative of health star under a report created by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad on the result of front pack labelling (FoPL) for packaged foods. The group surveyed a massive audience of 20,000 people across the country and understood the importance of health in the region. The survey transforms society and helps reduce the struggle of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the country.

It’s the reality that many Indian customers do not read the information on the packaged food and purchase on the name of the brand or something that gets on their convenience and compromises their health. It is one of the primary reasons India faces a massive burden of incommunicable diseases, leading to 5.87 million (60%) deaths every year.

The health star system helps customers make healthy choices and understand the product’s pros and cons. The warning signs on the food packaging educate or guide the domestic or street cooking people who always do not fail to focus on the source of a product.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed one of the significant moves taken by the FSSAI authorities. I hope this initiative will make brands redefine their products and make them healthier. The current draft regulation is the right decision made by the authorities and going in the right direction.

After the pandemic, consumers were also concerned about what they were consuming and wanted a change. It is the people’s interest also that junk foods are revealed and widely propagated. If a brand can successfully make people fool and sell bad foods, they can market good foods even better. As a responsible, we should support this law. If you have any concerns regarding the new system and implementation, please put your query in the comment below or reach out to us.

Author: Anush Malik

Being a strategist’s head and a long term visionary personality aims to achieve excellence in branding, packaging and digital marketing field. My 15 years of design experience and masters degree ais my strength which keeps me motivated and keep me going positively. I have participated in extensive branding design conquests in India, USA, Australia and New Zealand with winning zeal. My objective is to encourage start-ups and hence involves actively in the articles which will act as a productive intake of knowledge for them. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.