FSSAI (veg/non-veg symbol): India nutrition label

Nutrition labelling requirements in India

Packaged food sold in India must carry a nutrition declaration under FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 (as amended to 2025). This page covers the India - FSSAI (veg/non-veg symbol) format: Mandatory green-circle / brown-triangle symbol per FSSAI 2022 Amendment. A compliant India FSSAI nutrition label declares 8 mandatory nutrients: energy, protein, carbohydrate, of which sugars, fat, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium. Values are declared per 100 g or 100 ml, with energy in kcal, and sodium rather than salt. The panel is headed "Nutritional Information". English is required on pack. Front-of-pack warnings apply. The required scheme is coloured shape in square. NFL builds a print-ready India FSSAI nutrition label from your recipe, applying the rounding rules and reference intakes for India automatically, and exports it as PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG or EPS.

Official regulation

Key facts

Regulation 5(3): the ten mandatory lines on an Indian Nutritional Information panel

The 2020 regulations, notified on 17 November 2020, replaced the 2011 Packaging and Labelling rules. Regulation 5(3)(b) fixes the panel content, in this order:

• Energy value (kcal)
• Protein (g)
• Carbohydrate (g), with Total Sugars (g) and Added Sugars (g)
• Total Fat (g), Saturated Fat (g), Trans Fat (g, other than naturally occurring trans fat) and Cholesterol (mg)
• Sodium (mg)

Saturated fat and trans fat are only required when total fat exceeds 0.5 per cent of the final food, and both may be declared as not more than a figure. Cholesterol is only required for products containing fats of animal origin above the same 0.5 per cent threshold. A food claimed to be enriched must state the quantity of each added nutrient.

The panel must show the serving measure in grams or millilitres and the number of servings in the package; a serve is the amount customarily consumed per eating occasion, and may also be given in household measures. Regulation 5(3)(e) fixes energy factors: 4 kcal/g for carbohydrate and protein, 9 for fat, 7 for alcohol, 3 for organic acids, 2 for dietary fibre and polyols other than erythritol, 0 for erythritol. Protein is nitrogen times 6.25 (6.38 for milk).

Source: FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020, regulation 5(3), compendium Version VIII (September 2025).

Per 100 g, per serve and %RDA on a 2,000 kcal basis

Regulation 5(3)(b) requires values per 100 g or 100 ml, or per single-consumption pack, plus the per-serve percentage contribution to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). The %RDA is calculated on the serve, not on 100 g, using adult daily figures written into the regulation itself:

Trans fat carries a 2 g reference. For other nutrients, regulation 2(1)(q) points to the current ICMR Nutrient Requirements and Recommended Dietary Allowances for Indians, then to Codex or WHO values where no Indian RDA exists.

Tolerance is one-sided: regulation 5(3)(d) allows a declared nutrient to fall at most 10 per cent below the label figure at any time within shelf life, with no upper margin stated. Food service outlets supplying nutrition information on request get a 25 per cent deviation under regulation 9(4).

A draft amendment gazetted on 18 February 2025 proposed that the per-serve %RDA for added sugar, saturated fat and sodium appear in bold letters with a relatively increased font size. The First Amendment Regulations 2025 notified on 8 August 2025 did not carry that clause; they enacted only a coffee-chicory declaration change effective 1 July 2026. Bold %RDA is therefore not a current requirement.

Source: FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020, regulations 2(1)(q), 5(3)(b), 5(3)(d) and 9(4).

See also: Draft Labelling and Display Amendment Regulations 2025 (Gazette, 18 February 2025) and First Amendment Regulations 2025 (Gazette, 8 August 2025).

Regulation 5(4) veg and non-veg logos, 5(14) allergens and language rules

Regulation 5(4) governs the green and brown marks. Non-vegetarian food, meaning any ingredient, additive or processing aid of animal origin other than milk, honey, beeswax, carnauba wax or shellac, carries a brown filled triangle inside a brown-outlined square; vegetarian food carries a green filled circle inside a green-outlined square. The symbol sits on a contrasting background close to the product or brand name on the front of pack, and must also appear in advertisements. Minimum sizes scale with the panel: up to 100 cm² the circle is at least 3 mm and the square 6 mm; above 2,500 cm², 8 mm and 16 mm. Mineral and packaged drinking water, carbonated water, alcoholic beverages, liquid milk, milk powders and honey are exempt.

Allergens under regulation 5(14) go in a separate Contains statement: cereals containing gluten (by cereal name), crustacean, milk, egg, fish, nut (peanuts and tree nuts), soy, and sulphite at 10 mg/kg or more. Cross-contact may be declared as May Contain.

Regulation 4(5) requires the mandatory particulars in English or in Hindi in Devanagari script; other languages may be added if they do not contradict them. Regulation 6 sets legibility: at least 1 mm letter height on panels up to 200 cm², rising to 6 mm above 2,500 cm², with width at least one third of height.

Source: FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020, regulations 4(5), 5(4), 5(14) and 6.

Regulations 5(3)(c) and 8: which foods and which packs skip the panel

Regulation 8(1) is the small-pack rule: where the package surface area is not more than 100 cm², the label may omit the ingredient list, batch number, nutritional information, additive declarations, licence number and logo, importer address and instructions for use, provided all of it appears on the multi-unit package. Packs under 30 cm² may also omit the date marking on the same condition. Refillable bottles skip the ingredient list but not the nutrition panel.

Regulation 5(3)(c) exempts categories of food from nutritional labelling altogether, including:

• Unprocessed single-ingredient products, and single-ingredient products that have only been matured
• Water, including carbonated water; salt and salt substitutes; table-top sweeteners
• Herbs, spices and curry powder (but not sprinkler masalas meant for direct consumption)
• Coffee, chicory and their extracts; tea and herbal or fruit infusions without ingredients that change nutritional value
• Vinegar, flavourings, food additives, processing aids, enzymes, gelatine, yeast, chewing gum and bubble gum
• Alcoholic beverages, and foods for special dietary or medical purposes

Two conditions cut across the list. Edible oils, hydrogenated or interesterified fats, margarine, fat spreads and any food using fats or oils as an ingredient must still declare trans fat and saturated fat; oils and fats must also declare monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. And every exemption falls away once a nutrition or health claim is made.

Source: FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020, regulations 5(3)(c) and 8.

Indian Nutrition Rating draft status and how FSSAI enforces the label

India has no front-of-pack nutrition scheme in force beyond the veg and non-veg symbols. A draft Labelling and Display Amendment Regulations 2022, published for comment, would add an Indian Nutrition Rating (INR): half a star to five stars, scored per 100 g or 100 ml from energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium, offset by positive nutrients such as fibre and protein. The draft would put the logo on every packaged food not exempt from nutritional information, close to the product name on the front of pack, at 15 mm to 25 mm depending on panel area, and would define high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) food. None of this appears in the September 2025 compendium, so it remains a proposal, not a requirement.

Enforcement sits with FSSAI and the State Food Safety Authorities under section 29 of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. A label that is false or misleading in any material particular makes the food misbranded, and section 52 sets a penalty of up to three lakh rupees, with power to order corrective action or destruction. Section 25 bars importing misbranded food; imported packs must add the importer's name, address and licence number and the country of origin.

FSSAI announced on 15 January 2025 that labelling amendments take effect on 1 July each year, with at least 180 days between notification and enforcement. Build an India label in the generator at #/app.

Source: Draft FSS (Labelling and Display) Amendment Regulations 2022, FSSAI comments portal.

See also: Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, sections 3, 25, 29 and 52 (India Code) and FSSAI press release, 15 January 2025.

Sources

Primary documents this page was written from, checked 2026-09-16.

• FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020, compendium Version VIII (9 September 2025)
• Draft FSS (Labelling and Display) Amendment Regulations 2025 (Gazette, 18 February 2025)
• FSS (Labelling and Display) First Amendment Regulations 2025 (Gazette, 12 August 2025)
• Draft FSS (Labelling and Display) Amendment Regulations 2022, Indian Nutrition Rating (FSSAI comments portal)
• FSSAI press release on 1 July enforcement date (15 January 2025)
• Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (India Code)

How NFL handles it

• Applies the correct rounding rules for every nutrient
• Uses the right Daily Value / Reference Intake table for this jurisdiction
• Renders the required front-of-pack warnings automatically when thresholds are hit
• Handles multilingual labels where required (bilingual EN/FR, EN/ES, Arabic + EN, etc.)
• Exports print-ready vector PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG, and EPS

Deep dive

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