Issues associated with rising Sugar content in food items

Source: The post Issues associated with rising Sugar content in food items has been created, based on the article “NOT SO SWEET ANYMORE” published in “Business standard” on 2nd May 2024.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2-governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Context: The article discusses how rising health awareness in India is leading to a decrease in sugar consumption, affecting companies that produce sugary foods and drinks. It highlights controversies and changes in product labeling and advertising regarding their health implications.

How are companies responding?

Reducing Sugar Content: Companies are actively reducing sugar in their products. For example, Mondelez reduced added sugars in Bournvita by 14.4% and introduced a variant with 50% less sugar. Similarly, Nestle India reported a reduction of added sugars by up to 30% across various products over five years.

Rebranding Products: Hindustan Unilever renamed its health food drinks category to “functional nutritional drinks,” moving brands like Horlicks and Boost under this new label to better reflect their nutritional profile and align with consumer health consciousness.

What controversies have arisen?

Bournvita’s Marketing Controversy: Bournvita faced criticism when a social media influencer questioned its classification as a “health drink” due to its high sugar content. This led to regulatory action, with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries directing e-commerce platforms to remove such products from their health drinks category.

Nestle’s Sugar Addition in Infant Food: Public Eye, an NGO, accused Nestle of adding sugar and honey to its infant milk and cereal products.

What legal and policy changes are being considered?

Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is contemplating the introduction of front-of-the-pack nutrition labels. This change aims to help consumers make more informed choices by clearly displaying nutritional information on product packages.

Indian Nutrition Rating System: In September 2022, FSSAI proposed an Indian Nutrition Rating system, a star rating method to assess the nutritional profile of packaged foods. This system could rate items from half a star to five stars, providing a quick and understandable assessment of food quality.

Question for practice:

Evaluate how the rising health awareness in India is impacting the strategies of food and beverage companies.