India Moves to Tighten Food Labeling Laws

Section 3A of the Livestock Importation Act of 1898 confers on the central government the power to restrict the import into India of all livestock products without sanitary import permits. The sanitary import permit shall be issued by the joint secretary of the Trade Division of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries only if, after a detailed import risk analysis, the concerned authorities are satisfied that the import will not adversely affect the health of the animal and human populations of the country. Additionally, all livestock products must be imported into India through the seaports or airports where Animal Quarantine and Certification Services Stations are located, at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.

As per the notification of the director general of foreign trade (DGFT), all packaged products are subject to compliance with all the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules of 1977, when imported into India. The labeling requirements are applicable only to imports of those pre-packaged commodities intended for retail sale; imported raw materials, components, bulk imports, and other products that will invariably undergo further processing or assembly before they are sold to consumers, are not subject to the labeling requirements.

Labels and Consumers

Because almost all food products have embedded credence attributes, it is difficult for consumers to evaluate the quality of food products themselves by looking at the food labels. In general, consumers do not understand the complex and technical information regarding health and nutrition that is given on such labels. However, this information definitely increases consumer confidence about food quality and safety.

Standardization and uniformity of information on food labels might help consumers understand the information. But it will not be possible for consumers to assess quality and safety if a food product has been wrongly labeled. Because claims on food labels create expectations among consumers regarding the healthfulness of products, these claims need to be scientifically confirmed and enforced through proper regulatory mechanisms.

Future Action

India has sufficient rules and regulations for mandating the production and supply of safe and quality food products in the market. However, operational and institutional mechanisms for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of this legislation require urgent attention. In most cases, imported packaged food products carry ingredient details in foreign languages and lack uniformity in labeling information.

A recent report on food labeling in the U.S. indicates that food import refusals due to labeling violations were caused by lack of required nutrition information (25%); failure to list the common or usual name of each ingredient (18%); failure to accurately state the product’s weight, measure, or numerical count (13%); and failure to provide the label in English (12%) as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

We may learn from a recent initiative of the Indonesian government, in which the National Agency for Drug and Food Control mandated the use of the Indonesian language on the labels of all packaged food products imported for retail purposes. Similarly, food labeling rules in China also mandate that packaged foods for retail sale must have their fundamental elements printed in a Chinese language.

Dr. Jabir Ali is assistant professor at the Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management at the Indian Institute of Management in Uttar Pradesh (www.iiml.ac.in). Contact him at [email protected].