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Context:

According to a new report published by the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi), a non-profit global foundation, leading food and beverage (F&B) companies sell less healthy products in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high-income countries. This report evaluated the performance of 30 of the world's largest F&B manufacturers.

Key Highlights of the Report

The report used the health star rating system to evaluate 52,414 food products from brands such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Hershey.

Health star rating system

The system rates products on a scale of one to five stars, with five being the healthiest. Products are evaluated using factors such as energy, saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium (which increase health risks), as well as protein, fiber, and the presence of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.

The report found that the overall healthiness of food products in Low-and-Middle Income Countries (LMICs) scored considerably lower (1.8) than in High-Income Countries (HICs) (2.3).

Pricing of healthier products

According to the report, only 30% of companies have a strategy in place to price their healthier products affordably for low-income consumers.

How is it important for India

India is facing a Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) burden — an estimated 10.13 crore Indians have diabetes, and according to National Family Health Survey 5 data, obesity rates are 24% among women and 23% among men.

Experts believe that diets have become unhealthier over the last few decades, accounting for a significant portion of the NCD burden.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) dietary guidelines (2023) and the Economic Survey of India (2023-24) state that unhealthy diets contribute 56.4% of India's total disease burden. The rising consumption of highly processed foods high in sugars and fats, combined with decreased physical activity and limited access to diverse foods, exacerbates micronutrient deficiencies and problems such as obesity.

According to UN data, over 50% of Indians cannot afford a healthy diet. At the same time, data from the Indian government show that households' expenditure on processed food has increased as a proportion of their total food expenditure.

About food package labelling

India is a signatory to the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children, which emphasizes the importance of protecting children from harmful junk food marketing.

In 2017, India launched the National Multisectoral Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Common Non-Communicable Diseases (2017-22) but has had limited success in enforcing labelling regulations.