What Information Should a Food Product Package Include in India?
The information commonly required on packaged food labels in India under FSSAI and Legal Metrology rules — and how to lay it out clearly.
Packaged food in India must carry specific information, mainly under the FSSAI (Labelling and Display) Regulations and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules. Designers need to plan space for this from the first concept — squeezing it in at the end is how packs become cluttered and hard to read.
This is a general design-oriented overview, not legal advice. Requirements change and vary by product category. Always verify your final label content against the current regulations or with a food-regulatory consultant.
Information commonly required
- Name of the food (describing its true nature)
- List of ingredients in descending order of weight, with food additives declared
- Nutritional information
- Vegetarian (green) or non-vegetarian (brown) symbol
- Allergen declarations, where applicable
- Name and complete address of the manufacturer / brand owner / packer
- FSSAI logo and licence or registration number
- Net quantity in standard units
- Maximum retail price (MRP), inclusive of all taxes
- Lot, batch or code number
- Date marking — such as date of manufacture or packing and 'Best Before' or 'Use By'
- Consumer care details
- Country of origin for imported food
- Instructions for use or storage, where relevant
Designing mandatory information well
- Group related information: a clear nutrition table, one block for manufacturer and FSSAI details, one for MRP, net quantity and dates.
- Leave a clean, unprinted or light area for batch number and dates if they are printed or stamped on the production line.
- Keep sufficient contrast — pale text on patterned backgrounds is hard to read and may not meet legibility requirements.
- Check the minimum font sizes and panel placement rules that apply to your pack size.
- Design the back panel for every SKU individually — ingredient and nutrition data change by variant.
Who provides what
The designer lays out the information clearly and makes sure the right elements have space; the brand owner supplies and is responsible for the content — ingredient lists, nutrition values, licence numbers and claims. A good workflow has the content confirmed before final artwork, not after the printer's proof.