Think tank on food policy urges celebs to check products' nutrition value before endorsing

The independent think tank on nutrition and food policy, Nutrition Advocacy in Public interest (NAPi), has written to advertisement agencies, PR agencies and managers, drawing their attention to misleading advertisements of food and beverage products.

This follows its recently released ‘50 Shades of Food Advertising’ report on the need for regulations on advertising of foods that are high in sugar, salt, fats, or ultra-processed foods to be amended.

The think tank said it is hoping that celebrities and their managers will identify unhealthy products based on the (National Institute of Nutrition) NIN-set thresholds and recall consumer protection rules before endorsing food products.

In the letter, NAPi cited NIN’s dietary guidelines that specify thresholds for three nutrients of concern beyond which the levels are considered unhealthy. The limits for added sugar are 2gm per 100ml in liquids or 3gm per 100gm in solids. The limits for salt are 175mg per 100ml in liquids and 625mg per 100gm in solids, and the limit for total fat is 30 percent of the total energy in the food product.

Additionally, it has also cited Section 28 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which defines “misleading advertisement” about any product or service as one that “deliberately conceals information".

Dr. Arun Gupta, Convenor of Napi, said, "I would urge all celebs and their managers to refrain from advertising food or beverages that contain higher than the thresholds set by NIN. Celebrities are perceived to have a huge influence on consumer purchasing behaviour. The question we’re asking is: are they fully aware of the constituents of the food products they are endorsing? Hence this letter of appeal.”

In the open letter, it has said that its report shows that several celebrities including the likes of Alia Bhatt, Rahul Dravid, Katrina Kaif, MS Dhoni, Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Kareena Kapoor, among others endorse unhealthy food products, and has requested them to check information on government’s Dietary Guidelines for Indians which provide thresholds for “Nutrients of Concern” before advising celebrities to endorse such products.

"Promotion of unhealthy food products is associated with unhealthy dietary practices as these are mostly HIGH in Sugars/Salt/Fats and contain chemical additives. These are addictive in nature. Increased consumption of such food products is associated with worse health outcomes like obesity, diabetes, cancers and heart diseases," NAPi said.

In its recent report ‘50 Shades of Food Advertising’, NAPi said that it looked at a sample size of 50 advertisements from various food categories where all the advertisements in the study were found to be concealing critical nutrients of concern such as sugar, salt, and fat. In the report, it also highlighted how legislative ambiguity and inaction by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) allow sections of the food industry to continue releasing misleading advertisements for food products that are high in sugar, fat and salt.

Further, the report shared examples of ads for confectionary, baked products and beverages, including milk and dairy-based drinks, ice creams, pasta, noodles and sauces that do not reveal their fat, sugar or salt levels.