You pick up a packet of biscuits that says “multigrain” and “high fibre” on the front. It looks like a sensible choice. Turn it over, though, and the back of the pack may tell a different story: a good amount of sugar, palm oil near the top of the ingredient list, and a serving size of just three biscuits.
The front of a pack is where brands sell. The back is where the facts are. Learning to read that small table takes about a minute once you know what to look for, and it can help you make better choices for your family, especially if someone at home has diabetes, high BP or heart disease.
To read a nutrition label in India, start with the serving size and compare foods using the “per 100 g” column. Then check added sugar, sodium, saturated fat and trans fat, and look at %RDA to see how much of your daily limit one serving uses. Finally, read the ingredient list: ingredients are listed from most to least by weight.
- Use the per 100 g / 100 ml column to compare two products fairly. Serving sizes differ between brands.
- %RDA shows how much of a day’s recommended limit one serving gives you. 20% or more of sugar, sodium or saturated fat in one serving is a lot.
- Sodium is printed in milligrams. Multiply by 2.5 to get the salt amount.
- Sugar hides under many names: glucose syrup, maltodextrin, invert sugar, jaggery, honey and more.
- “Partially hydrogenated oil” or vanaspati in the ingredients means the food may contain trans fat.
What Indian food labels must show
Under the FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, most packaged foods sold in India must list nutrition information per 100 g or 100 ml (or per single pack), along with the serving size and the %RDA per serving. The table must include:
- energy (kcal)
- protein (g)
- carbohydrate, total sugars and added sugars (g)
- total fat, saturated fat and trans fat (g), plus cholesterol (mg)
- sodium (mg)
FSSAI has also approved changes so that sugar, salt and saturated fat are printed in bold and in a larger font. You may notice this on more packs over time.
How to read a nutrition label: step by step
Step 1: Check the serving size first
Every number in the “per serve” column depends on the serving size. Brands often choose a small serving, like 25 g of chips or 2 biscuits, which makes the sugar and salt look low. Ask yourself: is this how much I actually eat? If you finish a 75 g packet of namkeen in one sitting, you have eaten three servings, so multiply everything by three.
Step 2: Compare products using “per 100 g”
When you are choosing between two brands of muesli, ketchup or biscuits, ignore the per-serve column and compare the per 100 g figures. This is the only fair comparison, because every product is measured against the same amount.
Step 3: Understand %RDA
%RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) tells you how much of an average adult’s daily allowance one serving provides. Indian labels calculate it on a 2,000 kcal day with these reference amounts:
| Nutrient | Daily reference used on Indian labels |
|---|---|
| Energy | 2,000 kcal |
| Total fat | 67 g |
| Saturated fat | 22 g |
| Trans fat | 2 g |
| Added sugar | 50 g |
| Sodium | 2,000 mg (about 5 g salt) |
A simple rule: 5% or less is low, 20% or more is high. If one small serving of a snack gives you 20% of your day’s sodium, the rest of your meals have very little room left.
Remember that your own needs may be different. A child, an elderly person or someone with diabetes or kidney disease may need lower limits than these.
Step 4: Look at sugar, especially added sugar
The label shows total sugars and added sugars. Total sugar includes natural sugar from milk or fruit. Added sugar is what the manufacturer put in, and that is the part to limit.
The World Health Organization advises keeping free sugars below 10% of daily energy, which is about 50 g (roughly 12 teaspoons) on a 2,000 kcal diet, and suggests that under 5% (about 25 g) gives extra benefit. One sweetened soft drink can contain up to 40 g of sugar on its own.
To picture it: 4 g of sugar is about one teaspoon. A drink with 12 g of added sugar per glass has about 3 teaspoons in it.
Step 5: Check sodium (salt)
Indian labels list sodium in milligrams, not salt. To get the salt amount, multiply sodium by 2.5. So 400 mg sodium equals about 1 g of salt.
WHO recommends adults keep sodium under 2,000 mg a day, which is about 5 g of salt or a little less than one teaspoon. Many Indians eat far more than this, and packaged foods like namkeen, instant noodles, pickles, papad, sauces and ready-to-eat curries add up quickly. People with high BP, heart disease or kidney disease should pay extra attention here.
Step 6: Check the fats
Not all fat is the same.
- Saturated fat comes mainly from palm oil, ghee, butter, coconut oil and cream. Eating too much over time can raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
- Trans fat is the type to avoid as far as possible. WHO and FAO suggest keeping it under 1% of daily energy, about 2 g a day. It is found in some bakery items, fried snacks and foods made with vanaspati or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
- Unsaturated fats (from groundnut, mustard, sunflower and rice bran oils, nuts and seeds) are generally the better choice in moderate amounts.
A label that says “0 g trans fat” per serve can still contain small amounts. If you see “partially hydrogenated” or “vanaspati” in the ingredient list, the product may contain trans fat.
Step 7: Read the ingredient list
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. Whatever comes first is what the product contains most of. If sugar, maida (refined wheat flour) or palm oil is in the first two or three places, the product is mostly that, whatever the front of the pack says.
Watch for these other names:
| What to look for | Other names on Indian labels |
|---|---|
| Sugar | glucose, glucose syrup, liquid glucose, invert sugar, sucrose, dextrose, fructose, maltodextrin, malt extract, corn syrup, jaggery, honey, fruit juice concentrate |
| Sodium | salt, sodium chloride, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium benzoate, sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, rock salt |
| Trans fat | partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, vanaspati, hydrogenated fat, bakery shortening |
| Refined flour | maida, refined wheat flour, wheat flour (when not marked “whole”) |
A product may list three or four kinds of sugar separately so that none of them appears at the top. Add them up in your head.
Step 8: Check the other label basics
The nutrition table is not the only useful part of the pack. Also look for:
- Veg or non-veg symbol: a green dot in a square means vegetarian; a brown triangle in a square means non-vegetarian.
- Allergen information: labels must declare common allergens such as milk, nuts, gluten-containing cereals, soy and crustaceans. Very important for anyone with a food allergy.
- Date of manufacture and “best before” or “use by” date.
- FSSAI logo and licence number: shows the manufacturer is registered.
- Net quantity and MRP.
Quick guide: high or low per 100 g?
These cut-offs are used by the UK’s NHS to help shoppers spot high and low levels at a glance. India does not yet have an official front-of-pack colour system, so treat these as a practical guide, not an Indian legal standard.
| Per 100 g | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Total sugars | 5 g or less | more than 22.5 g |
| Salt | 0.3 g or less (about 120 mg sodium) | more than 1.5 g (about 600 mg sodium) |
| Total fat | 3 g or less | more than 17.5 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.5 g or less | more than 5 g |
Common label traps to watch for
- “No added sugar” does not mean sugar-free. The product may still have plenty of natural sugar from fruit juice concentrate, dates or milk solids.
- “Multigrain” or “made with whole wheat” may still be mostly maida. Check what comes first in the ingredient list.
- “Baked, not fried” snacks can still be high in salt and fat. Compare the per 100 g numbers.
- “Lite” or “low fat” products sometimes add sugar to make up for taste.
- “Sugar-free” sweets may use sugar alcohols or sweeteners and can still be high in fat and calories. People with diabetes should check total carbohydrates too.
- Health drinks for children can carry several teaspoons of added sugar per glass. Read the added sugar line before buying.
A 30-second check in the supermarket
- Turn the pack over.
- Note the serving size and how many you will really eat.
- Look at added sugar, sodium and saturated fat per 100 g.
- Check %RDA. Anything at 20% or more per serve is high.
- Scan the first three ingredients and look for hidden sugars or hydrogenated fats.
- Compare with one other brand and pick the better one.
Frequently asked questions
What does %RDA mean on Indian food labels?
%RDA shows how much of an average adult’s daily recommended amount one serving provides. It is calculated on a 2,000 kcal diet. For sugar, sodium and saturated fat, a lower %RDA is better.
Should I look at “per serve” or “per 100 g”?
Use per 100 g to compare two products. Use per serve, adjusted for how much you actually eat, to know what you are consuming.
How do I convert sodium to salt?
Multiply sodium by 2.5. For example, 600 mg of sodium is about 1.5 g of salt.
How much sugar is too much in a day?
WHO advises keeping free sugars below 10% of your daily energy, which is about 50 g (12 teaspoons) on a 2,000 kcal diet, and ideally below 25 g. Your doctor may advise lower limits if you have diabetes.
Is “0 g trans fat” really trans-fat free?
Not always. Very small amounts can be rounded down. If the ingredients include partially hydrogenated oil or vanaspati, the food may still contain some trans fat.
What should diabetics check on a food label?
Look at total carbohydrates, total and added sugars, fibre and the serving size. Do not rely only on “sugar-free” claims. A doctor or dietitian can help set personal targets.
What should people with high BP check on a food label?
Sodium is the main number. Try to choose foods with low sodium per 100 g and keep an eye on %RDA for sodium across the day.
Summary
The back of the pack tells you far more than the front. Start with the serving size, compare products per 100 g, and check added sugar, sodium, saturated fat and trans fat. Use %RDA to judge how much one serving takes out of your daily limit, and read the first few ingredients to see what the product is mostly mad