Sensitization Workshop of Journalists on 'Front of Package Labelling' (FOPL) Held

By Samachar Vishesh

Chandigarh July 14, 2021:- Department of Community Medicine & School of Public Health (DCM & SPH), PGIMER, Strategic Institute of Public Health Education & Research (SIPHER) & Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) organized a "Sensitization Workshop of Journalists on the important issue of 'Front of Package Labelling (FOPL)'". FOPL as the name suggests refers to a label on packaged food & beverage which displays if the product is HFSS - High in fat, salt and sugar. The label also needs to mention critical nutrients. The idea of FOPL is to help buyers make informed & healthy choices while buying packaged food & beverages by providing accurate, simplified, standardized, and comprehensive information on the pack labels.

Dr Sonu Goel, Professor at DCM & SPH, PGIMER, Chandigarh & Principal Investigator, 'Strengthening Management of Hypertension Services Project' (SMHSP) said at the sensitization workshop of journalists, "Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs') like high BP, diabetes etc are the major cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 41 million deaths each year globally are caused due to NCDs'. Be it fresh preparations or pre-packaged foods, excess consumption of food that is high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) is often the major risk factor for obesity and NCDs'. Considering the demand and relevance of FOPL, this sensitization workshop was held to orient journalists for prioritizing FOPL and ensure its wider advocacy and coverage in print, electronic and digital media." Dr Goel urged that the government should introduce mandatory nutrient declarations in food packages in consonance with the WHO guidelines.

Dr Goel added that there is a need to enforce stricter compliance of FOPL guidelines by the packaged food & beverage industry. The label should also include an endorsement from a government or scientific organization to increase its credibility.

Apart from Dr Sonu Goel, many other experts shared their viewpoints on the subject. 

Dr Sanjay Bhadada, Professor and Head, Dept. of Endocrinology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, spoke about 'Metabolic disorders & their relation with high intake of salt, sodium, sugar'. Dr. Bhadada said that FoP labeling can remarkably reduce diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and many such NCDs' which have a link to intake of 'harmful food'. All appropriate food content should be mentioned on packaged food.

Experts at the workshop informed that according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 almost 17% Indian adult male population and over 14% adult female population is diabetic. In 2014, the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) & National Center for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), in their research reports said that over 28% of Indians suffer from high blood pressure and over 48% of the urban population and 18% of the rural population is overweight.

Dr Harvinder Kaur, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Paediatrics, PGIMER, Chandigarh apprised the media present about  'Junk food & childhood obesity'. She said that according to worldwide statistics the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents aged 5-19 has risen dramatically from just 4% in 1975 to over 18% in 2016. A proper system of FoP labeling can help parents make correct choices while deciding to buy packaged food which in turn will help in reducing ailments like 'childhood obesity' which is exacerbated among children by 'over consumption' of junk food.

Dr Nancy Sahni, Senior Dietician, Dept. of Dietetics, PGIMER, Chandigarh shed light on "Relevance of reading food labels & introduction of 'Front of Package Labelling'. She said that people find it challenging to understand nutritional information panels on packaged food. In 2019, Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had proposed in its draft regulations, traffic light labelling for packaged food items based on their fat sugar and salt content - red is for unhealthy,  amber for moderately healthy and green for healthy products. The authority in December 2019 notified the new labelling and display regulations making it mandatory to present nutritional information on the principal panel in bigger font size.

Unveiling of a newsletter titled 'Rational Drug Logistic System for Hypertension Control' was also held during the workshop.