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IRJM Paper6 June2013 PDF
IRJM Paper6 June2013 PDF
Abstract
The present paper aims at analyzing the nutritional information disclosure on the
wrapper of major milk based malted health drinks of leading Indian and multinational
brands being marketed in India. This study covers 20 milk based malted health drinks,
further they are classified on the basis of their segmentation which is based on regular health
drinks, children health drink and mothers health drink .This analysis clearly indicate that
milk based malted health drink manufacturers disclose nutritional information on their food
labels to facilitate the consumers in making informed choices as per their
corporate/marketing strategy. The difference in information contents across health drinks
imply that there is no standard regulation for disclosing the nutritional information and
therefore these information are provided by the organization on voluntary basis.
Key Words: Milk based malted Health Drinks, labels, nutritional information, regulation
1. Introduction:
Food purchase behaviour of consumers in most emerging economies such as India has
signi? cantly changed due to an increase in the per capita disposable income, global interaction,
information and communication technologies, urbanisation, education and health awareness, movement
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of households towards higher income groups, changes in lifestyle and family structure (KPMG, 2005) .
The health & wellness market of India has been growing at healthy growth rates for past few years. The
growing awareness for healthier lifestyle is the major reason behind the same. The health food and
beverages market in India is witnessing double digit year-on-year growth for quite a few years now, as a
result of changing lifestyle, improving disposable income, growing health awareness, etc. Malted food
products, baby food products, and cooking oils are the top three preferred products in the health foods
and beverages market of India. Other popular health food segments in the country are energy drinks,
Chyawanprash, fruit juices, butter alternatives, digestive biscuits, health drinks etc. (Research and
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Markets Adds Report: 2012-2017)
1. Review of Literature
Food labels are- the prime channel for information dissemination between food producers and
retailers, and the consumers of food products (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
and the World Health Organization (FAO, WHO, 2001)3. food labels play an important role by
disseminating important nutritional information to consumers. Initially, food labelling was limited to
food name, quantity, price and identity of the manufacturer. But recently, one of its important functions is
to bridge the gap between the consumer and the original food ingredients. The picture on the label
sometimes gives an idea of the colour, form and shape of the raw food and nutritional information guides
the consumer about the contents and the usefulness of the product. Thus, detailed and well-informed
food labels have become an indispensable part of today's consumption scenario.
Nutrition labelling is not strictly mandatory at present; therefore, consumers rely on food
producers to inform them about the nutritional content of their products. Food companies can satisfy
consumer demand for nutritional information by including such information on labels. Morris (1991)4
advocates the need for nutrition information on food products. He argues that nutrition labelling assists
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consumers in their quest to obtain optimal intake of nutrients. Lewis et al. (1994) also support such
views. They view the nutrition label as a means of bridging the gap between general dietary guidelines
and speci? c food choices. Hence, they consider the nutrition label as a means of implementing dietary
recommendations. Similarly, Gourlie (1995)6 believes that nutrition labelling will act as a link between
the scienti? c community and the consumer. Nutritional labelling is not mandatory at present even in
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India (Sankar, 2007) but the Indian Government is working on a proposal to do so (Economics Times,
8
2007) . The Ministry of Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has made The Standards of
Weights and Measures Rules 1977 mandatory for labelling. They include packaging, MRP, weight
speci? cations and production details. There is no reference to nutritional labelling. The suggested
amendments are the incorporation of quantitative ingredient Declaration, nutritional labelling and other
details regarding production. Some food companies have nutritional labelling (EU norms) on their
products but majority of them do not have. The draft regulation under the Prevention of Food
Adulteration (Amendment) Rules 2006 has been deferred for a third time to October 2008 (Chitrodia,
9
2008) . This delay in making labels mandatory has become an important point of concern for Indian
consumers. While the Indian Government is deliberating the law on nutritional labelling, it is important
to know the usage of these labels by Indian consumers and how they view the most prevalent format. No
research to date has been carried out on the subject, so this study aims to provide an insight into the usage
of labels by Indian consumers in order to inform the future policy debate.
Integral Review- A Journal of Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, June 2013 62
Analysis of Nutritional Information Disclosure on Labels of Milk Based Malted Health Drinks in India
?Research Design - research design is descriptive in nature, as it attempts to describe the quality
and quantity of prevailing nutrient information disclosed by manufacturers of milk based
malted health drinks.
?Data Type - The nature of data is secondary, as labels /wrappers of milk based health drinks
were collected to record nutritional information already indicated by manufacturers in their
products.
? -
Sample Size This study covers labels of twenty milk based malted health drink. So sample
size is twenty.
?Analysis of Data - This study covers 20 milk based malted health drink. Labels/ wrappers of
these products were collected to record if the nutritional information such as energy, fat,
cholesterol, carbohydrates, fibre, sugars, protein, vitamins, calcium, iron, sodium, minerals etc
has been indicated on the labels. Drinks are classified as regular, children and mothers health
drink based on their segmentation. Further, existing regulatory arrangements for food labelling
in the country has been analysed to evaluate the level of information disclosure by the food
processors. The collected data were digitized in a Microsoft excel spreadsheet and a simple
statistical analysis to assess the nutrient information disclosure which included descriptive
statistical analysis, cross tabulation and frequency distribution was carried out.
5. Analysis of Data
Fig1. Nutrients Disclosed in Regular Health Drinks
Fig 1 shows the nutrients disclosed in regular health drink, in regular health drink section Complan
Growth, bournvita, Horlicks, Horlicks Women's, Boost, Protinex (Diabetes Care), Protinex Original,
abott ensure gold has been included.Protein,fat,sugar, calcium,iron,Vitamin C,vitamin B complex are
the most common nutrients disclosed by health drinks.
? Protinex Diabetics Care is positioned for Diabetic Patients however it is compared with regular
Health Drinks as no other Competing product was found during study.
?Fatty Acids includes
- Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA)
- Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA)
- Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA)
?Vitamin B Complex includes the following:
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
-
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
-
Vitamin B3 (niacin or niacinamide)
-
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
-
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, or pyridoxamine, or pyridoxine hydrochloride)
-
Vitamin B7 (biotin)
-
Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
-
Vitamin B12 (various cobalamins; commonly cyanocobalamin in vitamin supplements)
-
?FOS (Fructo Oligo Saccharides)
Fig2. Quantity of Nutrients Disclosed in Regular Health Drink
With the changed customer food preferences the Indian food market is witnessing
unprecedented transformations. Manufacturers who can match the wholesome quality of their brands
through effective and informative labelling might alleviate anxieties and gain a competitive advantage.
The extent to which individuals process messages is influenced by both ability and motivation and
should therefore be of prime importance to food marketers, in their attempts to offer suitable labelling
and packaging information within the constraints of statutory requirements and by the physical pack
shape and size on which information can be presented. Therefore in current scenario the manufacturer of
malted health drinks who are disclosing relevant information will have greater competitive advantage.
References
1. KPMG (2005), “Consumer Markets in India: the next big things”, Publication No. 213-
405, KPMG International.
2. Research and Markets Adds Report: (2012-2017) India Health Foods Market: Trends &
Opportunities.
3. FAO, WHO (2001), Codex Alimentarius Food Labelling Complete Texts Revised
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health
Organization, Rome.
4. Morris, E.M. (1991), “Nutrition labelling”, European Food and Drink Review, Spring,
pp. 77-9.
5. Lewis, C.J., Crane, N.T., Moore, B.J. and Hubbard, V.S. (1994), “Healthy people 2000”,
report on the 1994 Nutrition Progress Review, Nutrition Today, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 6-14.
6. Gourlie, K.E. (1995), “Food labelling a Canadian and international perspective”,
adapted from an address at the International Life Sciences Institute, Annual General
Meeting, Cancun, Mexico, Nutrition Review, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 103-5.
7. Sankar, M. (2007), “Look at the label”, The Hindu: Metro Plus Hyderabad, online
edition (accessed 29 December 2007).
8. Economics Times (2007), “Food labelling norms put on hold”, 21 August, pp. 22.
9. Chitrodia, R.B. (2008), “No norms on labelling of products' nutritional value”, Times of
India, 23 May, p. 18.
10. Majumdar R .(2007).Product Management In India 3rd edn, pp242-244.