How to read an Indian food label without being misled
The label is not lying to you. It is telling the truth in a format designed to be flattering — here is how to read past it.
· 9 min read
Packaged food labels in India are regulated, standardised and generally accurate. They are also written by people whose job is to sell the product, within rules that leave a surprising amount of room. Nothing on a label needs to be false for it to leave you with a wrong impression.
Here is what is actually required, and where the gap between accurate and honest tends to open up.
What FSSAI requires
Under the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, packaged food must declare nutritional information per 100g or per 100ml, and — since the 2022 amendment — also per serving, along with the contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowance as a percentage.
| Item | Required |
|---|---|
| Energy | In kcal |
| Protein | In grams |
| Carbohydrate | Grams, with total sugars stated separately |
| Total fat | In grams |
| Saturated fat | In grams |
| Trans fat | In grams |
| Cholesterol | In milligrams |
| Sodium | In milligrams |
You will also find the green dot (vegetarian) or brown dot (non-vegetarian), the FSSAI licence number, the ingredient list in descending order by weight, and allergen declarations.
Trap one: the serving size
This is the most effective piece of legal misdirection on any packet, and it works on almost everyone.
A 60-gram packet of namkeen declares its numbers per 30-gram serving — so the packet contains two servings. The label says 160 calories. The packet, which you will eat in one sitting because it is a packet, contains 320.
| Product | Declared serving | Real packet | Calories eaten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namkeen packet (60g) | 30g → 160 kcal | 60g | 320 kcal |
| Instant noodles (70g) | 1 cake → 310 kcal | 1 cake + masala | 385 kcal |
| Biscuit pack (120g) | 3 biscuits → 150 kcal | Often the sleeve | 600 kcal |
| Fruit juice (1L) | 200ml → 90 kcal | A large glass, 300ml | 135 kcal |
| Ice cream tub (700ml) | 100ml → 200 kcal | A generous bowl, 200ml | 400 kcal |
Trap two: sugar under other names
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so a manufacturer that wants sugar to appear lower down can split it across several sweeteners, each individually small enough to sit below the flour.
Watch for all of these — they are all sugar:
- Sucrose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, glucose
- Invert sugar, liquid glucose, glucose syrup
- High-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Honey, jaggery, molasses, cane syrup
- Maltodextrin
Jaggery and honey deserve a specific mention because Indian marketing leans on them heavily. Nutritionally, jaggery is sugar with trace minerals. It has a marginally lower glycaemic index and negligible micronutrient value at the quantities anyone consumes. A biscuit sweetened with jaggery is a biscuit.
The reliable check is the total sugars figure in the nutrition table, which aggregates all of them regardless of what they are called on the ingredient list.
Trap three: health claims that mean less than they sound
| Claim | What it actually tells you |
|---|---|
| Made with real fruit | Contains some fruit. Possibly 2%. |
| No added sugar | No sugar was added. Fruit concentrate is not 'added sugar'. |
| Sugar free | Under 0.5g per 100g — but often high in fat or refined flour. |
| Multigrain | Contains more than one grain. Says nothing about wholegrain content. |
| Made with atta | Contains atta. Often alongside more maida. |
| Zero cholesterol | True of every plant food ever made. Vegetable oil qualifies. |
| Fortified | Vitamins were added. Does not change the base product. |
| Baked, not fried | Lower fat than fried. Still often 450+ kcal per 100g. |
| Natural | Almost entirely unregulated. Treat as decoration. |
None of these claims is dishonest. Each is a true statement selected because it is the most flattering true statement available. The nutrition table is where the unflattering truths live, which is why it is on the back in small type.
Trap four: the ingredient order tells the real story
Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. That single rule is more informative than most of the front of the packet.
A “multigrain” biscuit whose ingredient list begins refined wheat flour, sugar, edible vegetable oilis a sugar-and-maida biscuit with some grains added. A “fruit” yoghurt beginning milk, sugar, fruit preparation contains more sugar than fruit.
A worked example
Two breakfast cereals, side by side, both with health claims on the front:
| Cereal A | Cereal B | |
|---|---|---|
| Front of pack | 'High fibre, multigrain' | 'No added sugar' |
| Energy | 385 kcal | 360 kcal |
| Protein | 7g | 11g |
| Total sugars | 24g | 8g |
| Fibre | 6g | 9g |
| First ingredient | Wheat flour | Whole oats |
| Second ingredient | Sugar | Wheat bran |
Cereal A is 24% sugar by weight — roughly six teaspoons per 100 grams — despite the fibre claim. Cereal B has more protein, more fibre, a third of the sugar, and a whole grain as its first ingredient. The front of the packet would not have told you that. The back took about ten seconds.
A quick checklist
- Ignore the front of the packet entirely.
- Read the first three ingredients.
- Use the per-100g column, never the per-serving one.
- Check total sugars — over 15g per 100g is high for anything not a dessert.
- Check protein — under 5g per 100g means it is not a protein food regardless of claims.
- Check sodium — over 600mg per 100g is high.
- Multiply by what you will actually eat, not what they call a serving.
And the broader point: packaged food is a small share of most Indian diets. The label literacy above matters, but not as much as knowing what is in the food that arrives without a packet at all — which is what our breakfast and roti breakdowns are for.
Figures on this page are typical values compiled from public nutrition data and are approximations — real dishes vary with recipe, oil, and portion size. This article is general information, not medical or dietary advice. Talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian about any medical condition or before making significant changes to your diet.