Do you read the label on the package before purchasing any foodstuff/beverages?
Do you know that there are labeling laws in each and every country on the earth?
Do you know that it is mandatory for the manufacturers to disclose some information on the labels?
Do you know that many labels do not follow the laws!
Consumer awareness is at the infancy stage in India, though it is at a much advanced stage in other parts of the world. We hardly read the package before buying the food stuff. Knowledge of abbreviations used on the package of the beverages is a must to ensure that what you are consuming is not harmful to you. This is applicable to all the food products purchased by you, so apart from beverages, scope of this review is elaborated to other food products too.
Why the Consumers Are Not Bothered?
Fortunately for the beverage manufacturers in India, the consumers are not bothered to read the packages. Ask someone about this(in India) and you would get the answers like:
# I don't have time to read the label, I have to shop so many items.
# Its so boring to read.
# Why should I read, after all the product is advertised on TV, it must be safe.
# I always order on phone.
# I don't buy from self-service counters, so I cannot read all the packages.
Consequences of Negligence
Due to our negligence during purchasing food stuff/beverages, we can land up in problems like:
# Buying an expired product and even consuming it.
# Buying something having synthetic ingredients, for years(do you know what is there in the tomato sauce you had been using since decades or in the orange juice you had been using for years whenever you are sick).
# Buying lesser quantity than what we think we should get(by not knowing the difference between'ml' and'g').
# Buying something which is not allowed to be sold(shocking but possible).
The Labeling Laws
Have you heard of something called PFA - Prevention of Food Adulteration Act the Act which includes the labeling laws for all the packaged food in India. Lets see some of the mandatory requirements for the label of any packaged food/beverage in India, its always good to know these abbreviations.
# The square with the green circle inside - symbolizes 100% vegetarian food.and the one with brown circle - non-vegetarian food.its mandatory to put this symbol near to the brand name of the food product, there are even specifications for the dimensions of this symbol.even if there is a single ingredient in the product which is not vegetarian, you cannot put the green symbol.now check this on some of the products lying in your kitchen.
#'Contains permitted synthetic food colours and added flavours' - a common sentence seen on the beverages.this means that in this beverage the flavours and colours added are synthetic, i.e., they are made from chemicals and are not natural.though these chemicals are permitted for human consumption in India(in European countries, no one would buy anything which is labeled synthetic).
#'Best Before.'please do not forget to read this on any package, as this would tell you whether the product is still fit for consumption.at times I have seen big brands of beverages like Coke being sold after the expiry date in big supermarkets.be careful, don’t play with your health.
# List of ingredients - Do read this to know what all is added in the product you are going to consume, the list should normally be in descending order, so you would know what is more and what is less in it.there could be some ingredients like mono-sodium gluconate(MSG) which is not good for children.there could be something in it for which you are allergic, for example, the artificial sweeteners.
# The nutritional value - do check whether this is mentioned per 100ml or for the quantity present in the packet.you can see the protein, fat, carb content and the calories present in it.
# 'Crush the bottle after use' - Every PET bottle of mineral water should carry this declaration in capital letters, which means that the bottle is not supposed to be reused.
# ml means milliliter and g means gram, there is a difference between the two, so 1000 ml does not mean 1 kg or 1000g, be careful while buying oil, though its mandatory for oil packages to mention the quantity in both ml and g.
# Manufactured at - name and address of the manufacturer should always be there on the package.so at times you would feel that its a Godrej product, but if you read the package, would come to know that its only marketed by Godrej and manufactured by someone else.
# Processed by Irradiation Method - For any package which contains irradiated food, there is a declaration accompanied with a symbol, which means that the food is treated with atomic rays(gamma rays) for a particular purpose.
# Contains Caffeine - This means the product has an added caffeine in it, cold coffee has a natural caffeine in it, but some beverages may have added caffeine in it, which may not be suitable for babies.
# Not suitable for infants below six months - Particularly seen on sweetened and flavoured condensed milk.
There are lots and lots of declarations/abbreviations involved, but these are some of the common ones which everyone should be aware of.now test your knowledge on the products available on the shelf in any supermarket.don’t be surprised to see how many of them really follow the labeling laws.please let me know your observations.
