The FSSAI has proposed that food business operations incorporate provisions such as QR codes in food labels to facilitate easy access to nutritional information for the visually impaired. The agency is responsible for regulating food labelling standards.

This means consumers can make more informed choices if they have dietary restrictions or allergies, and the traceability of the product is ensured.

FSSAI said, “QR codes should encompass comprehensive details about the product including but not limited to ingredients, nutritional information, allergens, manufacturing date, best-before, use-by-dates, allergen warning and content information for customer enquiry”.

The emphasis of ‘The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’ lies in ensuring that individuals with disabilities have access to and are supported in maintaining good health. With this move, FSSAI extends help for people with visual impairments.

The advisory highlights that the inclusion of a QR code does not replace or revoke the requirement to provide mandatory information on the product label as prescribed by the regulations.

Interestingly enough, at the LMAI conference in Jaipur held on 20-22 July,  Sourabh Agarwal of Avery Dennison emphasised the utilisation of QR codes to address the concerns of sustainability. And, QR codes in food label packaging benefit both consumers and manufacturers.