Dec.18: NEWS FLASH
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in DCMBR
Food giants offer to lower salt, sugar and fat
Show of solidarity
Nestle, HUL. ITC, Britannia, Delmonte, Marico, Kellogg, Heinz and Patanjali are among the packaged food companies that have voluntarily set targets to reduce salt, sugar and trans-fat contents in their products. This is in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) initiative called the ‘Eat Right Movement’.
FSSAI will also launch a mass media campaign to spread awareness among people to reduce salt, sugar and fat consumption. The Eat Right Movement is built on two broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’. It has a website which is an interface between food safety and nutrition experts and citizens.
Welcome step
FSSAI forms panel to examine draft labelling norms
Industry concerns
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to form a three-member committee to look into the draft food labelling and display regulations. The regulations propose making red colour-coded labels mandatory on packaged food products which are high in fat, sugar and salt.
The expert panel will be led by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), and comprise current NIN director Hemalatha and Nikhil Tandon from AIIMS. The draft labelling regulations were released in April. Industry stakeholders believe these may have an adverse impact on the evolving packaged food industry. Mr Pawan Agarwal, CEO of FSSAI, stressed that they would go ahead with the norms after looking into the recommendations of the panel.
Determined regulator
Govt. to set up national e-commerce regulator
Online industry
In a major step towards regulation of the online space, the government is planning to set up a single regulator for e-commerce to address all issues related to this sector. This is part of an upcoming legislation governing all aspects of e-commerce in the country. The regulator will ensure consumer protection and compliance with foreign investment caps in e-commerce.
Some of the other measures suggested in the draft e-commerce policy are local data storage, mandating the use of state-run RuPay payments in online transactions and enhancing the participation of medium and small enterprises. The move comes amid growing demand for action against e-commerce players, including Amazon and Flipkart, for alleged violation of foreign direct investment (FDI) policies.
Much-needed move
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