Vegan food has been generating plenty of buzz in the post-COVID era. A lot of people are switching to the vegan diet, which avoids consuming animal products such as dairy and eggs. Vegan food is said to be healthier for the environment too, this is why many alternative foods such as mock meat are also coming up in the area of a plant-based diet. The Food Safety and Standards Authority Of India (FSSAI) has come up with a set of draft rules for vegan food products and has also introduced a logo for vegan food. Take a look:
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) introduces vegan logo for food products
"Earlier, we had logos for veg (green dot) & non-veg foods (brown dot). We have a growing movement towards veganism. So we have come out with a vegan logo," says FSSAI CEO Arun Singhal pic.twitter.com/P2lW86Mspj— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2021
At @FSSAIIndia, launched a logo for Vegan Foods to help consumers easily identify & differentiate from non-vegan foods.
This will empower the people to make informed food choices. pic.twitter.com/xlAusg3HkD
— Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 20, 2021
Just the way the green dot depicts vegetarian food and red indicates non-vegetarian, vegan food will now be designated by the v-shaped green logo shared by FSSAI. This is the first time that the Government of India has recognised vegan products and mentioned the requirements for compliance with food standards.
According to FSSAI, vegan foods refer to those foods which do not make use of any ingredients, additives, or processing aids of animal origin. This may include milk and milk products, fish, poultry, meat, egg, honey, or materials of insect origin such as silk, dyes, or bone char. "The food products or ingredients to be called vegan shall not have involved animal testing for evaluating the safety of the final product or ingredient and shall not contain any animal-derived GMOs or products prepared using an animal-derived gene for manufacturing the ingredients or products," read the draft rules.
(Also Read: 5 Plant-Based Foods Rich In Vitamin A To Include In Your Daily Diet As Per FSSAI)
Vegan food involves no use of animal or animal products.
Arun Singhal, the Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI, said that while everyone was aware of vegetarian and non-vegetarian demarcations on food products, there was a need to mark vegan food as well. "There is a movement for veganism. There are many people who are allergic to milk and want to avoid animal products completely. For them, we have the vegan food logo that will help people to make their choice," he said to ANI.
Twitter users appreciated the gesture by FSSAI to recognise and label vegan food products. Take a look at some of the reactions:
That's great !
A lot of people are VEGAN & this transparency helps in making food choices & buying the right foods— Pallavi (@pallavict) September 21, 2021
Great start to identify cruelty free and vegan products.. this I feel is the start for a great beginning .. hope this encourages more products to go vegan and encourage businesses that aren't harmful to planet earth and animals as well.— ????kaivalya kashyap ???? (@kai4animals) September 21, 2021
This is wonderful news! We should extend this to more than just food. Vegan logo should be on things we wear, places we go to as well!— Ajay Kumar (@aj_kumar_swag) September 21, 2021
No word powerful enough to thank you for this. Unbelievable and calming to see a government considering and promoting this in its policies.
Thank you! ❤— Abhishek Agarwal (@Abhishek10021) September 21, 2021
What did you think of the new vegan logo introduced by FSSAI? Tell us in the comments below.