**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to Unstarred Question No. 2322 in Lok Sabha, scheduled for February 13th, 2026. The question concerns the labelling of ultra-processed food products. The response outlines the measures taken by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to raise public awareness, implement regulations, and ensure food safety.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **FSSAI Mandate and Responsibilities:**
* FSSAI is responsible for establishing science-based standards for food articles.
* It regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food.
* The implementation and enforcement of the FSS Act, 2006 is a shared responsibility of the Central and State Governments.
* **Public Awareness Initiatives:**
* FSSAI has implemented "Aaj se Thoda Kam" to address adverse effects of consuming foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, encouraging dietary modifications.
* The "Har Label Kuch Kehta Hai" campaign promotes food safety consciousness and healthy eating habits through social media, focusing on understanding food labels.
* **Regulatory Measures:**
* The Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 provides comprehensive provisions for pre-packaged food labelling.
* The Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and Balanced Diets for Children in School) Regulations, 2020 outlines school authorities' responsibilities for safe and nutritious food on school premises.
* **Food Safety Enforcement:**
* FSSAI ensures the availability of safe food products through regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection, and random sampling of food products by state/UT officials.
* Compliance is checked against quality and safety parameters as per the FSS Act, 2006, rules, and regulations.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder:** Consumers
**Impact:** Increased awareness about the nutritional content and health impacts of ultra-processed foods, enabling informed dietary choices.
**Action Required:** Understand food labels and make healthier dietary choices.
**Stakeholder:** Food Manufacturers
**Impact:** Must adhere to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
**Action Required:** Ensure accurate and informative labelling of pre-packaged foods.
**Stakeholder:** School Authorities
**Impact:** Responsible for ensuring safe and nutritious food availability on school premises.
**Action Required:** Adhere to the Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and Balanced Diets for Children in School) Regulations, 2020.
**Stakeholder:** State/UT Food Safety Departments
**Impact:** Responsible for enforcing food safety regulations and standards.
**Action Required:** Conduct regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection, and random sampling of food products.
Key Entities Referenced
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI): The primary regulatory body mandated to lay down science-based standards for articles of food and regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food.
Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: The main legislation for food safety and standards in India, under which FSSAI operates.
Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020: Regulations laying down comprehensive provisions relating to the labelling of pre-packaged foods.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: The central government ministry responsible for matters relating to health and family welfare, including food safety regulations overseen by FSSAI.
Eat Right India: An initiative to promote food safety consciousness and healthy eating habits across India.
GOVERNMENTOFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO.2322
TO BE ANSWERED ON13THFEBRUARY, 2026
LABELLING OFULTRA-PROCESSED FOODPRODUCTS
2322. SHRI PUTTAMAHESH KUMAR:
SHRI PRABHAKAR REDDYVEMIREDDY:
SHRI MAGUNTASREENIVASULU REDDY:
SHRI G M HARISH BALAYOGI:
Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:
(a)whether the FoodSafety andStandardsAuthority of India (FSSAI)hasundertaken any
measures toraise public awareness regarding the healthimpactsof consumption of ultra-
processed food productsandif so, the detailsthereof;
(b) the regulatory, policyandenforcementsteps/measures takenduring the last five yearsto
curbthe manufacture,sale andconsumption of ultra-processed food productsinthe country;
(c)whether the Government hasexamined/proposed the introductionof anyfront-of-pack
labelling,grading,or rating system toinform consumers about the nutritionalandhealth
implicationsof ultra-processed food products; and
(d) if so, the detailsthereofand if not,the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
THE MINISTEROFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY
WELFARE
(SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV)
(a) to (d): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated to lay down
science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage,
distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human
consumption. The implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS)
Act, 2006isa shared responsibility between the Central andStateGovernments.
FSSAI has undertaken awareness measure called 'Aaj se Thoda Kam' to address theadverse effects of consuming foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. It encourages consumers to
graduallyreduce their intake of fat,salt, andsugar through dietarymodifications.
FSSAI has also undertaken awareness campaign "Har Label Kuch Kehta Hai" under
the ‘Eat Right India’ movement on social media to promote food safety consciousness and
healthy eating habits across India. This awareness campaign focuses on empowering
consumers tomake informeddietarychoices by enhancingtheirunderstanding of food labels.
Food labels contain crucial information about a product's nutritional value, ingredients, and
potentialallergens.
FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display)
Regulations, 2020,which lay down comprehensive provisions relating tothe labellingof pre-
packaged foods. Further, FSSAI has also notified the Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food
andBalancedDiets for Children inSchool)Regulations, 2020outliningthe responsibilities of
school authorities to ensure the availability of safe and nutritious food on school premises
while also promotingbalanced dietsinandaroundschool campuses.
FSSAI is fully committed to ensure the availability of safe food products to the
consumers across the country. Towards this, regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and
random sampling of various food products are conducted throughout the year by the officials
of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/ UTs to check compliance with the
qualityandsafety parameters andotherrequirementsaslaiddown underFSSAct, 2006,rules
& regulationsmade thereunder.
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