According to Food
Regulation 2011, Non-vegetarian or non-vegetarian food is food in which a part
or whole of an animal is used. These include birds, freshwater or marine
animals or eggs, or products derived from any animal, but do not include milk or
milk products. All non-vegetarian or non-vegetarian food should be labeled a
circle filled with a brown color inside a square with a brown outline.
At the same time, an egg is the only
non-vegetarian material that can be told about this apart from the brown
symbol. Vegetarian or vegetarian
food should be labeled with a green circle inside the square with a green
outline. The manufacturer is also required to display a list of the quantity
and weight of the ingredients as well. The manufacturer has to specify what type
of edible vegetable oil, vegetable fat, animal fat or oil, fish, poultry, meat, cheese, etc. has been used in the product. If an ingredient itself is made up
of two or more ingredients and the "compound ingredient" consisting
of it constitutes less than 5% of food, then a list of ingredients included
in compound ingredients other than food additives No need to declare.
Why did the question arise
regarding food labeling, what did the court say? Now the question arises
that when the rules regarding labeling of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods
are clear, then why are questions being raised about it? The High Court said
that the law very clearly states that the manufacturers should specify which
food is vegetarian and which is non-vegetarian. The Court observed that however, it appears
that some food business operators are taking unfair advantage of the rule of
regulation that, with certain exceptions, the source of ingredients (plant or
animal) used for the manufacture or production of food articles There is no
obligation to tell.
How is non-veg mixed in vegetarian food? Even though many products are sold as vegetarian food and have a
green circle on them to designate them as vegetarian, they also use ingredients
that are made from animals. The Delhi High Court cited the example of disodium inosinate (E 631), a food additive found in instant noodles and potato chips, which are commercially prepared from meat or fish. The court said, "A little search on Google reveals that E 631 is nonvegetarian and It is commercially prepared from meat or fish. Although it can also have a plant origin when it is made from the Tapioca starch, otherwise mostly the origin is from meat. Those suffering from gout and asthma should steer clear of such products. Since, the disodium inosinate (E 631), can be obtained from plant sources this is why the rule was not forcibly adhered to the manufacturer to paste the level for the Non-veg category but what was the moral duty of the manufacturer?
They should clearly indicate their products based on the source of the ingredients used for production. But, When such ingredients or ingredients are also used in a vegetarian product, only the code for that ingredient is disclosed. Without disclosing on the packaging what the source of the material is, that is, whether it is made from plants or animals or chemically prepared in a lab. The court said, "Many food items which contain ingredients from animals pass as vegetarian only by applying green dot."
The court issued instructions to the food operators: The court said in its judgment that any vegetarian food that contains non-vegetarian ingredients in a "modest percentage" would "make that food non-vegetarian, and the religious and cultural sensitivities and feelings of vegetarians" hurt, and interfere with their rights. The Court held that the failure of the authorities to investigate such lapses is in violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The Court directed the Food Business Operators to strictly adhere to Regulation 2.2.2(4), which mandates "Declaration in respect of vegetarian or non-vegetarian food".
The court warned these food operators that failing to comply with this rule would be considered a violation of the fundamental rights of the public consuming their products. If this happens, strict legal action will be taken against the food operators. Also, the court has directed FSSAI to implement this order.
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