Meaning of Colour Codes On Food Packets

Watch our latest video to learn about the various colour codes on food packets.

India has a large audience for both Veg & Non-Veg food, but some of the communities are restricted by religion where Non-Veg food is not entertained. Also there are people who only like to eat veg food. To safeguard the interests and the sentiments of such people in India, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, had implemented various rules for companies who sell packaged foods in India. The companies have to mention contents of the product, origin source, additives, nutrition composition, country of origin. quantity etc. on the packaging. One of the main rules is that all food products must have the identification mark “Veg” or “Non-Veg” for the category of food. You must have seen these markings on your food items. These marks are to make sure they are easily understood by people and even illiterate customers can understand. 

To enable the consumer to know whether any packaged food is vegetarian it is indicated by a green color filled circle in a green square or non-vegetarian is indicated by a red color filled circle in a red square on the package. However now the non-vegetarian logo has been changed. It is now a red triangle in a red square. Because earlier those who were color blind, would get confused in red and green color. This is why the shape of the non-veg mark has been changed to a triangle for easy identification. The Veg or Non veg logo should be placed near the product name so that consumers can easily identify that the product is vegetarian or contains any non-vegetarian content. There are some products like carbonated water and liquid milk which are exempted from this provision. 

Considering the rise in veganism the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced a new vegan logo. Vegans are people who do not eat animal products and only eat plant based items. So items like milk, honey, curd, etc. are not vegan. This is their new logo. 

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