·               Health Info-with-Price Norm likely for Ecomm

Bengaluru|New Delhi : India’s food safety regulator is likely to mandate online marketplaces to prominently display key health and nutritional alerts alongside the retail price for packaged items sold on their platforms, multiple people aware of the matter told ET. 
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is evaluating a proposal to enforce front-of-the-pack nutritional labelling to alert consumers about high fat, sugar and salt foods in a bid to curb consumption of unhealthy foods, they added.
If these rules are notified, ecommerce companies as wellas quick commerce sites such as Swiggy Instamart, Dunzo, Blinkit and Zepto may be required to provide this information “below or next to the market retail price,” according to a person associated with FSSAI. “Discussions are ongoing but the regulator is yet to arrive at a decision,” said the person.
Currently, nutritional facts are shown as a separate picture along with the main display picture of the products on ecommerce platforms.

·               Star Rating System

It is already mandatory for all portals and mobile apps to display the calorific value and information related to nutrition and allergen of packaged food items. 
Last September, FSSAI had issued draft regulations for front-of-thepack nutritional labelling (FOPNL) for packaged food companies. It proposes to introduce the concept of five-star ratings to provide information about the nutritional value of the products to consumers. 
“One part of it (the recent notification) has been silent on how ecommerce buyers know the health aspect. This is something that has come up as feedback and FSSAI is looking at how to enforce it,” said a person aware of discussions, adding that “they should not find it difficult to implement because calorie count is already mentioned separately on online platforms. ”
So far, FSSAI’s draft proposal on star ratings to identify high fat, sugar and salt foods (HFSS) has been resisted by health groups and nongovernment organisations, the view being that such ratings will not be effective in curbing consumption of unhealthy foods such as packaged chips and biscuits. 
The proposal comes when the go-
INDUSTRY SEEKS CLARITY 
Global food industry executives point out that online grocery portals, especially quick commerce, are fastgrowing sales channels. “Any additional declarations on ecommerce platforms, over and above what is already mentioned on the packs, will be a deterrent to consumption,” according to a senior executive on the condition of anonymity. 
“There needs to be complete clarity on what the additional labelling will require and we will put across our views once this comes up for consultation with the foods industry,” the person said, adding that his company was aligned to its global mandate of reducing salt and sugarin its products “significantly. ”
In 2021, the food safety regulator mandated Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, to prepare a detailed report on FOPNL for packaged and processed foods. This was the first time an external entity was roped in for this. All new proposals are based on the IIM report. 
Oliver Mirza, India and South Asia managing director at German packaged foods company Dr Oetker, which makes mayonnaise and desserts, told ET, “We have streamlined our processes and systems to implement new labelling; we are ready. But there remains a lack of clarity on what is required. ”
CONSUMER VIEWPOINT
ET reported on January 11 that the majority of Indian consumers are in favour of front-of-the-pack red labels to identify ultra-processed foods, as well as clearly visible red labels next to the listings on ecommerce sites and apps. The issue has been at the consultation stage for over seven years, with packaged food companies resisting changes and health activists seeking the strictest possible norm. While there have been multiple discussions with stakeholders, FSSAI is yet to take a decision.