Grading goodness: Food labels for healthier choices and compliance

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), food labelling provides essential information about packaged food's composition, properties and production conditions, helping consumers make informed decisions. However, food labelling has been given little importance in many nations, including Bangladesh, leaving consumers confused and potentially vulnerable.

Statistics underscore the gravity of the situation, indicating that incorrect labelling accounts for 40% of Bangladeshi product rejections in the EU and America, with roughly 30% of recalls attributed to undisclosed allergens. This inadequacy is a pressing concern, especially in Bangladesh, where regulatory authorities face severe limitations in enforcing mandatory food standards, with a meagre 12% of overall food standards deemed obligatory.

Consequently, product rejections and recalls are rife in the country, even in standard chain retail outlets, where only 9% of the 900 food items sold undergo proper monitoring channels.

The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institutions (BSTI) ensure that food commodities comply with the laws and quality standards mentioned in them. Through the collaboration of BSTI and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), a comprehensive set of standards for food quality has been developed under the Food Safety Act 2013. 

This Act also provides for establishing BFSA to oversee and regulate the activities related to food production, import, processing, storage, distribution and sale in the country. The following laws govern the labelling criteria in Bangladesh:

i) The Packaged Food Labelling Regulations 2017

ii) Bangladesh Standards of Weights and Measures (Commodity Packing) Rules 2007

iii) Bangladesh Import Order 2015-2018

iv) The Food Safety Act 2013.

Despite the fact that there are regulations governing food labelling, Bangladesh's packaged food labelling laws have been followed rarely. These laws are intended to offer a set of guidelines on product manufacturing to delivery. 

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) conducted a survey on packaged biscuits of 66 brands (both imported and locally produced) made by 33 companies. The results showed that 76% of the products did not have BSTI certification marks and proper labelling, 86% did not have an expiration date, 83% did not mention the weight and 83% had higher prices being charged by the sellers. 

In a subsequent survey undertaken by CAB in August-September 2002, it was discovered that 52% of the 51 brands of jam and jelly produced by 31 businesses lacked BSTI certification marks, while 13.72% did not mention the ingredients, 23.52% did not mention the date of production and date of expiration and in 54.90% cases the retail price was not mentioned on the label. 

In another research, nearly half (44%) of the study's sampled goods had more salt than indicated on the packaging. The BSTI has little control over the sale of frozen or canned food, deep-fried snacks or calorie-dense BBQ diets from restaurants or shops bordering the streets of both posh and shabby neighbourhoods. 

According to Bellal Hossain, a nutrition and food engineering professor at Daffodil International University, Bangladesh is conceivably the only country in the world where the frozen food industry is unregulated.

Time to reform the food labelling law 

A scoring system based on nutritional value could be implemented in Bangladesh to empower consumers to make informed food choices. Such a system would assign a score to each food product, reflecting its nutritional value and indicating whether it contains excessive amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats or is high in protein, fibre and other vital nutrients. 

Unhealthy products would mean a lower score and healthy food products would mean a higher score. This system would provide a quick and easy way for consumers to determine which products are most beneficial for their health and well-being.

Besides the scoring system, a comprehensive star-based system could be introduced to enhance the labelling laws further. This system would consider various food production and packaging factors, including the manufacturing process, storage conditions and compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. Food products that meet all the requirements and standards would receive a 5-star, signifying the highest level of quality and safety.

To encourage compliance with nutritional standards and regulations, incentive theory could be integrated into food labelling laws. Manufacturers that produce high-quality, law-compliant foods could receive tax cuts and other incentives, motivating them to improve their production processes and supply chains, resulting in healthier and safer food options for consumers. Moreover, export tax cuts for law-compliant foods could bolster the reputation of the nation's food industry and promote the export of quality food products.

Several countries have implemented different systems to illustrate the nutritional values of packaged foods. In Australia and New Zealand, for example, the Health Star Rating system is used, which assigns a rating from 0.5 to 5 stars based on the overall nutritional profile of the product. 

This system was implemented to help consumers make informed food choices and improve public health outcomes. France uses the Nutri-Score system, which uses a colour-coded scale ranging from A (green) to E (red) to indicate the overall nutritional quality of packaged foods. The plan was designed to be simple and accessible to all consumers and to encourage food manufacturers to improve the nutritional quality of their products.

A comprehensive and standardised food labelling system based on nutritional value and its effective enforcement can go a long way in safeguarding public health and promoting transparency in the food industry. The government and industry players must take the lead in investing resources and attention in this area to ensure consumer health and well-being.