The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is misleading consumers by publishing incomplete information. In its latest advertisement published in the media, the Authority has refrained from clarifying its stand on certain requirements of the Act which could create a situation of confusion for the consumers. This was stated by Nagendra Bhargava of the Midland Fruit & Vegetable Products (I) Pvt. Ltd.
Bhargava, who was the former chairman of Processed Food Export Promotion Council (replaced by The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority – APEDA), was referring to the March 25 advertisement published by the FSSAI in the newspapers making it mandatory for the food products manufacturers to print certain details on their label. These included name of the food, name and complete address of the manufacturer, net quantity/net content/net weight, lot/code/batch no., list of ingredients (inclusive of additives) in descending order, nutritional information (proteins, fats and carbohydrates), best before/expiry date, declaration regarding food additives (INS number), and vegetarian or non-vegetarian declaration.
