Is our right to health threatened by the lack of warning labels on packaged foods?
As we celebrate World Health Day 2024 as ‘My Health, My Right’, it is unfair to say that our right to health is under threat until we have access to the right information. there is no. As consumers, we have an important role to play in promoting sustainable consumption, which is further facilitated by being informed and educated about what is healthy. Only if it is done.
Until now, consumers have been largely unaware of the impact their purchasing choices have, but on this World Health Day, it is important to inform consumers about their right to information and their right to health, and how these influence their purchasing decisions. It can be exercised through choice. .
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and Goal 12 focuses on ensuring “sustainable consumption and production patterns.” Ensuring consumers’ right to health is the responsibility of all stakeholders. Businesses must comply with consumer information, and regulators must establish regulations to protect consumer health.
With this in mind, consumers need access to the right information to enable them to make informed choices. Placing warning labels on the front of packaged foods is one legal way to inform consumers of unhealthy foods. Consumers need simple, easy-to-understand labels to help them make informed food choices. The increasing sale of processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt, and the extensive promotion of such products in various channels, make consumers even more vulnerable. There is sufficient scientific evidence that nutrients of concern are directly linked to non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Consumers who understand their rights and obligations can understand and interpret labels before purchasing products that are appropriate for them and their families. What are consumer rights? The right to information, the right to consumer awareness, the right to protection from unfair trade practices, including misleading and deceptive labeling information, and most importantly, the right to safety. the right to healthy food and the right to health.
In a nutshell, all these rights are about making consumers aware of the contents of their food through well-designed and simple warning labels that warn them about unhealthy foods and help them make informed decisions. is requesting.
With the growing burden of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounting for 63% of all deaths in India, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 upholds consumers’ right to safe food. Among possible interventions, front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPL) has received increasing attention from experts and scientists and is now being used to tackle NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. It is considered one of the most important policies.
The consumption of ultra-processed and processed foods is on the rise, putting the lives of children and young people at risk, regardless of their socio-economic background. The situation can be improved by placing simple warning labels on the front of food packages of unhealthy foods to help consumers make the right choices. Warning labels on the front of packaged foods can help consumers identify products that are high in salt, sugar, and fat.
The main purpose of FOPL is to display simplified nutritional information on the front of the package of prepackaged foods. In today’s fast-paced world, consumers find it difficult to flip the pack or read the back of the pack. In addition to lack of time, many people find it difficult to understand food labels. A well-designed FOPL implementation provides consumers with nutritional information in an easy-to-understand format, helping them make sustainable and healthy food choices.
The roles of consumers and businesses in promoting sustainability and ensuring safe and healthy food are intertwined. Companies must respond to consumer demand for safe food. By increasing transparency and accountability through front-of-pack warning labels on unhealthy packaged foods and engaging in responsible advertising and marketing practices, businesses and consumers can make a positive impact on the environment and society.
Everyone should have the right to make decisions about their health and no one should be deprived of this right.
(The author is CEO of Consumer VOICE)
