Natural, Fresh, No Added Sugar: What Food Claims Really Mean in India

Walk down any aisle and the front of the pack is shouting: natural, fresh, no added sugar, no preservatives, high protein. These words are there to help you decide in a few seconds. They are also some of the most misunderstood words on a food label.

In our guide to reading a label we said the back of the pack is where the required information sits. This post is about the front: claims. In India, claims on food are covered by the FSSAI’s Advertising and Claims Regulations, which came into force in 2019. The idea is simple: if a brand makes a claim, it should be able to meet the conditions that go with it.

1. “Natural”, “fresh”, “pure”: handle with care

Words like natural, fresh, original, traditional, authentic and genuine sound reassuring, but they have no everyday definition. FSSAI’s rules say these words should not be used on a label except under specific conditions. So a pack that leans heavily on them is making a claim you can reasonably ask about.

A useful habit: ignore the adjective and read the ingredient list. A product that is “natural” in big letters and has a long list of unfamiliar items is telling you two different stories.

2. “No added sugar”

This is meant to say that no sugar, and no ingredient that is itself a sweetener, was added to the product. It does not mean the product has no sugar. Fruit, milk and many grains carry sugars naturally, and where that is the case the label is expected to say so.

Two things to check: the ingredient list (look for sugar by any name, such as jaggery, honey, syrup, dextrose or fruit juice concentrate) and the nutrition table (total sugars per 100 g).

3. “No preservatives” and “no added salt”

These are also “nothing was added” claims. They tell you about what the brand put in, not about the food as a whole. A pack can say “no added salt” and still contain sodium from its ingredients, so the nutrition table remains the better guide.

4. “High protein”, “source of fibre” and similar

These are nutrition claims. They are meant to be backed by a defined amount per serving or per 100 g, which is why the nutrition table matters. If a pack says “high protein”, find the protein number and the serving size, then compare it with a plain alternative. We go deeper in “high protein” on Indian food labels: what the claim means and how much protein you need.

5. Health claims and “superfood”

Claims that a food prevents, treats or cures something are held to a much stricter standard than a nutrition claim, and they need evidence behind them. “Superfood” is a marketing word, not a regulated category. Be cautious with any claim that sounds like medical advice.

Five questions to ask in the aisle

• What exactly is being claimed: something added, something removed, or something about the nutrition?
• Does the ingredient list agree with the front of the pack?
• What does the nutrition table say per 100 g, and what is the real serving size?
• Is the claim about the whole product, or one ingredient in it?
• Is there a licence number, a batch or date, and a way to contact the brand?

What claims cannot tell you

A claim is a brand’s statement about its own product. It does not tell you how an ingredient was grown or sourced, whether a particular batch was tested, or whether anyone independent has checked the statement. That is the gap we want to explore at Root to Bite: what a brand says, what has been checked, and what is still unknown. You can read more in how we handle evidence. A live example: the row over whether a can may be called an “energy drink”, explained in is “energy drink” banned in India?.

Rules and wording change, and the exact conditions for each claim are set out in the regulations. For the latest official position, see the FSSAI pages below. This guide is a plain-language introduction, not legal or medical advice.

Sources

• FSSAI Digest: Claims (no added sugar, no added salt, no preservatives)
• FSSAI: Advertising and Claims regulations, summary

General information only, not legal or medical advice. No brand sponsored or reviewed this article.