No objective definition of ‘misleading advertisement’ by FSSAI, reveals NAPi report

New Delhi: Aggressive marketing and advertising of food products contribute to unhealthy food practices, leading to non-communicable diseases like type-2 diabetes, obesity, cancer and heart attacks, among others, as per the Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) report.

The report added that the legal framework referring to misleading advertisements does not clearly define its meaning when it comes to food products, thereby, left to be interpreted by a committee. A missing objective definition of misleading advertisement results in FSSAI failing to categorise them as misleading taking years for a resolution.

“The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 seeks to prohibit misleading or deceiving advertisement of food in Section 24(1), yet it lacks to objectively define what constitutes a misleading advertisement,” the report stated.

It further revealed that The Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Act of 2018 does not explicitly restrict advertisements for high sugar, salt and/or fat (HFSS) or junk foods while celebrities may endorse a food product unless another legislation requires a health warning or the product cannot be purchased by children.

As per the report, the Lancet published a SWOT analysis on the policies for reducing the marketing of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) in India. 

The experts examined 13 policies and found the Central Consumer Protection Authority's (CCPA) Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, is the only one that limits HFSS food ads to children.

The statement said, “There are several shortcomings, including a limited scope of 'child-targeted' marketing and a lack of standards for defining HFSS foods. The analysis proposed a strong regulatory framework that protects children from all HFSS food marketing, not only what is 'directed' at them, and includes clear evidence-based food classification criteria.” 

Campaigners have petitioned the central government for amendments to six laws and regulations to enhance control over advertisements for junk food. 

These include the Consumer Protection Act, 2019; The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011; The Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018; the Cable Television Network Regulation Act and Rules, 1994 (Advertising Code); and the Press Council of India’s Norms of Journalist Conduct, 2022.