Nutri-Level labelling: Indonesia plans new food labelling laws to mandate front-of-pack grading scheme
The Nutri-Level system is expected to look very similar to Singapore’s Nutri-Grade system, where processed food products would be labelled as either level A (dark green), B (light green), C (yellow) or D (red) according to their nutrient content.
Whilst the system is likely to be implemented in phases, newly-released draft regulation documents from Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has revealed that the government is indeed taking this measure seriously as Nutri-Level has already been included in the draft.
“Nutri-Level will be used to give the processed food product a level represented by the alphabet A, B, C or D based on its content of sugar, salt (sodium), and total fat,” BPOM stated via formal documentation.
“Processed foods that are given level C or D will be mandated to display the Nutri-Level assigned on the front of the product packaging.
“The implementation of Nutri-Level will be carried out throughout the food and beverage industry in Indonesia in phases.”
The first phase of Nutri-Level implementation will focus on ready-to-drink beverages that are determined to have C or D levels, to be followed by other processed food items moving forward.
“These draft regulations provide an important update to current legislation as including this information on the labels will help the public to better choose their foods and beverages according to their nutritional needs,” said the agency.
“BPOM is also preparing for the implementation of the Healthier Choice Logo to be displayed on the front of packaging for products that meet the necessary criteria, which will be a tick sign within a circle that states HEALTHIER CHOICE in capital letters and is flanked with the statement ‘When compared to similar products consumed in reasonable amounts’.
“This logo must be placed at a location that is easily seen and read, there are specific colours and formats that must be adhered to, and it must not affect the brand name or occlude important information on the product labels.”
BPOM has also included a detailed list of the criteria that every product within a certain food or beverage category must fulfil in order to display this logo.
For instance, RTD drinks must contain no more than 6g of sugar per 100ml, instant noodles must have no more than 900mg of salt and 20g of fats per 100g, and tomato sauce must have no more than 700 mg salt and 14g sugar per 100g.
Clear messaging
The draft regulations have also specified that certain messaging on product labels be made clear, such as the specifications for serving sizes.
“Serving sizes must be in accordance with the criteria specified in these regulations and must be able to be fulfilled within one unit of the product that is being sold,” said BPOM.
“In the event that the net content or net weight of the product is [less than the allocated] serving size value, the serving size will be determined as the net content or net weight.
“The serving size values have been listed as part of these regulations, for example one serving of fresh milk must be between 100ml to 250ml, a serving of chocolate syrup must be between 20ml to 50ml, a serving of pasta must be between 50g to 100g, a serving of plain crackers must be between 15g to 30g, and so on.”
