NEW DELHI:  The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released a draught notification for the printing of the Indian Nutrition Rating (INR) on food packets as part of a labelling exercise, with healthy food items receiving a higher rating. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has brought this to the attention of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

In a letter, CAIT complained that the new regulations did not take into account the realities of the food industry and the numerous consumer purchasing constraints.

"This action appears to be logical and was taken with the purpose of providing the people of India with nutritious food. The proposed guidelines, however, do not take into consideration the actual state of the food industry or the numerous consumer spending conditions "read the letter.

Although India is a country with a great deal of diversity, CAIT claims that the aforementioned laws are an attempt to control the food trade with one stick. "The food trade in India is carried by major companies on one side, but largely crores of small Halwai, food operators, Sweet & Namkeen makers and other food business activities conduct their food business activities catering to the requirement of about 80% of the population of the country," it added.
Food options reportedly vary from state to state. For instance, people in Delhi enjoy chat pakori, kachori, etc., whereas people in Gujarat prefer farsan, people in MP have several options for locally manufactured namkeen, people in Maharashtra adore Pav Bhaji, and those in South India have entirely different preferences.

Notably, the majority of these things are available in packaging. These foods are well-known for their unique and unusual recipes, and each one of them has a particular nutritional value. These and other sizable goods are produced according to consumer preferences.

"Any legislation or regulation that may be drafted to regulate them with one yardstick will end with the closure of these numerous small sweet and namkeen manufacturers, traditionally known as Halwai and Bakers, which will further result in a great number of workers who work with these small Halwai and sweet namkeen manufacturers losing their jobs," it was further stated.

Please take a moment to think about the submissions we made above. We would appreciate it if you could schedule a time for us to meet with you in person to discuss the matter, though - Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders, said in a letter.

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