In a virtually unregulated sector, food companies are making health claims for products that experts say are highly misleading. For one, many `nutritious' processed items have high levels of sugar. But who is looking out for the consumers?
Two months ago, at a fourstar hotel in Mumbai, Britannia Industries, launched biscuits called Multigrain Thins. “We have a snack here that won't do your body any harm,“ announced Anuradha Narasimhan, who heads the company's health and wellness division.
Britannia is among many companies that have launched processed food products over the past year that they aggressively claim are good for our health. But many of these claims are misleading because they are imprecise and because they leave out crucial information, say experts (see five examples above).
This is happening because we have no independent authority vetting their claims. India's food sector is supposed to be regulated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and state-level food authorities such as Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration. But the latter mainly check for adulteration; it is the central body that is meant to investigate misleading claims made by food manufacturers. Although it began functioning on paper in August 2011, the Authority is yet to start verifying claims made by food manufacturers because it is highly short-staffed.
Given that processed foods have still not penetrated India the way they have, say, in the US, the market can grow considerably if companies are able to convince consumers that their products are healthy.
This has given rise to a category of products that the industry calls “functional“ foods. In an environment where there is aggressive marketing but no stringent independent regulation, consumers are more easily misled, say activists and independent nutrition experts.
“The European Union is insisting on scientific substantiation and that's slowing processed food companies in Europe,“ said Marion Nestle professor of nutrition at New York University and author of Food Politics, a book that talks about how processed food is marketed and sold and how it affects people's health in the US, in an email interview. “Health claims sell products and the only reason for inventing these foods is to be able to make health claims for them. If they can't make claims, they can't sell products.
Companies claim health benefits on rather flimsy science.“
Says Kelly Brownell, professor, department of psychology at Yale University and director of its Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity: “The food industry has shown time and again that it considers the front of packages to be extremely valuable real estate and uses it to their benefit to make foods appear healthy even in cases where there might be scant reason to do so.
“TROPICANA 100% COMPANY: PEPSICO | LAUNCHED IN: NOVEMBER 2011 CLAIMS FRONT OF THE PACK: 100% orange juice; no added sugar, no added colour, no preservative.
SIDE OF THE PACK: Orange juice with nine fruit nutrients.
BACK OF THE PACK: It has nine fruit nutrients: Carbohydrates, potassium, riboflavin, magnesium, folic acid, phosphorus, vitamin C, calcium, sodium.
WHAT EXPERT SAYS “Fresh fruits in a wholesome form are much better than packed juices. By talking about the nine fruit nutrients, you are implying that the fruit is as healthy as the juice itself.“ G SANTHANARAJAN, director food safety programme at the Consumer Association of India in Chennai
COMPANY'S RESPONSE “Tropicana 100% fruit juices contain 9 Fruit Nutrients and are naturally free of fat and cholesterol. In every Tropicana 100% communication, including communication on television and print, we mention “Take a wholesome and complete breakfast. Make Tropicana 100% Juice a part of your daily breakfast“. Tropicana 100% juice does not claim to be a complete food or a substitute for complete meal.“
-SPOKESPERSON
CHOCOS MADE WITH WHOLE GRAIN }
COMPANY: KELLOGG INDIA | LAUNCHED IN: FEBRUARY 2011
CLAIMS FRONT OF THE BOX: Made with whole grain, 11 types of vitamins, high in calcium BACK OF THE BOX: Every bowl of...Chocos has the goodness of all three parts of the grain...bran, endosperm and germ. So your child gets the most from their grain food.
WHAT EXPERTS SAY “The label states that the product has 10.4 grams of sugar per a 30 gram serving of Chocos. So it has 34.7% sugar, which is very high. Thus, it cannot be considered a healthy product. But the company is also promoting the same product as an afternoon snack available in cheaper packs. So you are encouraging children to have the unhealthy product twice a day.“ PRITEE SHAH, chief general manager, Consumer Education Research Center, Ahmedabad
“If one third of a product is sugar, it should be classified as junk food. These products often lead to obesity amongst children and are unhealthy.“ G SANTHANARAJAN, director, food safety programme at the Consumer Association of India, who retired as an analyst with the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, a body under the Tamil Nadu government
COMPANY'S RESPONSE
Hindustan Times sent an email to Kellogg India with the views of experts on November 22, 2011. Kellogg India did not respond to the story because it said that their spokesperson was “unavailable“.
NUTRI CHOICE MULTIGRAIN THINS
COMPANY: BRITANNIA | LAUNCHED IN: NOVEMBER 2011}
CLAIMS FRONT OF THE BOX: Healthy snack, non-fried, multigrain, low cal, low fat, zero cholesterol, zero transfat.
BACK OF THE BOX: Claims to have multigrain bajra, whole green gram, wheat, jowar, channa. Low calorie compared to fried snack products.
WHAT EXPERTS SAY “In the absence of Indian definitions of what a `low fat' or a `low calorie' product is, we follow the European regulation on health and nutritional claims, which says that `a claim that a food is low in fat may only be made where the product contains no more than 3g of fat per 100g'. But according to the label this product has 20.5g of fat in 100g. This product is unhealthy. “ DOLLY JANI, manager of the chemical lab at Consumer Education Research Center, Ahmedabad “No vegetarian product can contain cholesterol. So the “zero cholesterol“ claims are technically correct but what it purports is different. These things can be understood properly only if consumer has been educated in reading labels.
“ V SUDERSHAN RAO, assistant director and scientist with the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad
COMPANY'S RESPONSE “In Nutrichoice Multigrain Thins, the fat component in 25 gm is 5 gms. The Indian Council of Medical Research says that fat in the diet should not exceed 30% of calories. This product is significantly lower than that and hence this product can be considered low fat. The fat is non-hydrogenated and hence the tag is zero trans fat. No butter or any other cholesterol-containing ingredient is used. Hence, zero cholesterol is mentioned on the pack. Flax seeds contain good amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to be beneficial for health and the heart.“-SPOKESPERSON
BOOST WITH ENVITA NUTRIENTS COMPANY: GLAXOSMITHKLINE | LAUNCHED IN: OCTOBER 2011
CLAIMS FRONT OF THE BOX: Scientifically proven to increase stamina by three times. Enriched with EnVita Nutrients, a creative rendition for micronutrients that have a role in energy metabolism and physical performance.
WHAT EXPERTS SAY “EnVita nutrients is a confusing term that gives the impression that the product is healthier than others. It is not a scientific term and means nothing.“ -V SUDERSHAN RAO, assistant director and scientist with the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad
COMPANY'S RESPONSE Hindustan Times sent an email with questions to GlaxoSmithKline on November 23, 2011. The company hasn't replied to any of the queries. }
TANG WITH VITAMIN A, B AND C
COMPANY: KRAFT | LAUNCHED IN: FEBRUARY 2011
CLAIMS FRONT OF THE BOX: With vitamin A, B and C. New! Now with Iron.
BACK OF THE BOX: More than 50% of children in India suffer from lack of iron.
Tang contains nutrients that can help you in the following ways... Iron: Essential for kids healthy growth. LAUNCHED IN: FEBRUARY 2011
WHAT EXPERTS SAY “For every 19g of Tang the label says it has 18g of sugar. To claim that a product packed with sugar is healthy “with essential nutrients“ is misleading. Consumer education in our country is so poor that we assume that there are vitamins in this product.“G SANTHANARAJAN, director, food safety programme at the Consumer Association of India in Chennai
“This product is mostly sugar with added vitamins and minerals. It cannot be equated with a natural juice which has nutrients from natural sources, so it is not as healthy as real fruit nutrients.“ DR SUPARNA GHOSH-JERATH, nutritionist and assistant professor at Indian Institute of Public Health in Delhi
COMPANY'S RESPONSE “As a responsible global company, Cadbury India Ltd adheres to all rules and regulations to ensure complete compliance with the regulatory requirements applicable for all the products manufactured and sold in India. When mixed with water it will transform into a fun fruit flavoured drink that delivers the essential micro nutrients of Iron, Vitamin A and C.“ -NARAYAN SUNDARARAMAN, director, powdered beverages -gum and candy, Cadbury India, which was taken over by Kraft Foods last year.
Radhika Raj HT 15j0112
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