Experts question ‘star rating’ of food products likely to be recommended by FSSAI for packaged food

What is the News?

According to experts, the Health Star Rating system that the Food Safety Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) plans to adopt in order to help consumers reduce their intake of unhealthy foods is “not evidence-based” and has failed to alter buyer behaviour.

What is FSSAI Health Star Rating System for packaged food Products?

In February 2022, FSSAI decided to adopt the Health-Star Rating(HSR) system for food products.

Under this system, packaged foods will display the number of stars on the front of the pack, indicating how healthy or unhealthy it is depending upon the amount of salt, sugar and fat it has.  

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Why have experts raised questions over FSSAI Health Star Rating System?

Firstly, the HSR system adopted in countries like Australia and New Zealand has not resulted in any meaningful behaviour change.

Secondly, the HSR system “misrepresents nutrition science”. This is because the underlying premise of the HSR is that positive ingredients such as fruits and nuts can offset negative nutrients such as calories, saturated fat and total sugar.

– However, the algorithm of adding and subtracting nutrients does not fit with the understanding of biology. For example, the presence of fruit in a fruit drink juice does not offset the impacts of added sugar in the body.

Thirdly, the HSR system can lead to a “health halo” which can confuse consumers as stars can be interpreted as an endorsement of a product.

What is the alternative to the HSR System suggested by experts?

​​The experts have suggested front-of-package warning labels such as black octagonal warnings that indicate when food and drink products are high in sodium, sugar, salt and fats as the most effective models to date in informing consumers of the nutritional quality of packaged products.

This suggestion is based on evidence from countries such as Canada, Israel, Chile, Perú, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico that have made FOP warning labels mandatory.

Source: This post is based on the article “Experts question ‘star rating’ of food products likely to be recommended by FSSAI for packaged food” published in The Hindu on 20th April 2022.