What front-of-pack claims actually mean
The front of a pack is marketing and the back is the record. Most claims printed on Indian packaging are either loosely regulated or regulated in a way that permits far more than the phrase suggests. This page takes the common ones and says what each permits, and what to check on the back to settle it.
This is not a claim that manufacturers are lying. Several of the phrases below are legal and accurate as defined. The gap is between the definition and what a shopper reasonably hears.
"No added sugar"
Permits:fruit juice concentrates, syrups, honey, jaggery, malt extract and maltodextrin. Some manufacturers read it as "no added refined sugar" and some as "no added sucrose", and both readings leave the door open.
Check: the total sugars row, and the ingredient list for anything ending in -ose or -syrup. Maltodextrin deserves particular attention: it is not technically a sugar and need not be declared as one, but its glycaemic index is around 110, higher than table sugar.
"Whole wheat" and "multigrain"
Permits:more than most people expect. In August 2026 the Central Consumer Protection Authority fined a biscuit manufacturer ₹1 lakh over a "wholewheat" marie biscuit that contained 19.5% whole wheat flour and 52% refined flour. The regulator's objection was that prominence created an impression the composition did not support.
"Multigrain" means more than one grain is present, in any quantity. Ragi, oats and barley pictured on a wrapper can be present at a few percent, contributing neither the fibre nor the character the images suggest.
Check: the ingredient list order. If refined wheat flour or maida is first, that is the biscuit. Then check the fibre row — a genuine whole-grain product shows it.
"Made with real fruit" and "100% juice"
Permits:very little fruit. In proceedings over a pomegranate drink labelled "100% juice", the composition was described as water with 4% pomegranate juice concentrate and 10% apple juice concentrate. The regulator called the claim misleading.
Check:the percentage declaration, which is usually printed in small type near the ingredient list, and the total sugars row. A fruit drink at 12 g of sugar per 100 ml is a sugar drink whatever fruit is pictured.
"Health drink" and "energy"
Malted drink powders were barred from being sold in India under the phrase health drink by a government direction in 2024, because the category has no legal definition. The products did not change; the word did.
Check:total sugars per 100 g of powder. In labels we have read, malted drink powders run from 32 g to 46 g per 100 g — a third to nearly half the tin.
"No MSG"
Permits: other flavour enhancers that do the same job. INS 627 (disodium guanylate) and INS 631 (disodium inosinate) are common substitutes and frequently appear together, often alongside a yeast extract that carries glutamate naturally.
Check: the additive list for 627 and 631. INS numbers explained.
"Zero trans fat" and "cholesterol free"
Permits: a small amount, since these are usually defined as below a threshold per serving rather than absolutely — and the serving size is chosen by the manufacturer. Per 100 g vs per serving.
"Cholesterol free" on a plant-oil product is true and uninformative: no vegetable oil contains cholesterol. The relevant row is saturated fat.
"Vegetable oil"
Permits: palm oil, without naming it. This has its own page: why "vegetable oil" on an Indian label usually means palm.
The pattern
Every claim above is settled by the same two things: the ingredient list order and the per-100 g table. A claim describes one property in isolation; the table describes the food. Where the two disagree, the table is the one that was audited.
This is also why LabelSaaf scores from the table and not from the front of the pack. A rubric that read claims would be scoring the marketing.
Common questions
Are these claims illegal?
Mostly not. A few have drawn enforcement — the whole-wheat and 100%-juice cases above — but most sit inside the rules as written. The regulator's own advisory body has flagged a rise in unsubstantiated health and nutrition claims, which is a different problem from outright illegality.
Will front-of-pack warnings fix this?
They would help, by putting one comparable signal where the claims are. India has had a star-rating proposal in draft since 2022 and it is still not mandatory. Where the rules stand.
Photograph the nutrition table on a pack and get a score out of 100, with the reason behind every point.
Scan a label