To perform well in this category, a company should:
Malnutrition is one of the principal limitations of India’s global economic potential (Copenhagen Consensus, 2012). should commit to delivering more affordable, healthy products, while making specific references to reaching groups that experience or are at a high risk of malnutrition with such products. As a result, how a company comprehensively addresses all forms of malnutrition (including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity and diet-related diseases) should be based on the specific nutrition issues in the Indian market, as defined by public authorities. The results from the first phase of the fifth and the latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in 2019-2020, indicate a decline in nutritional status of children under 5 years. Anemia among women also remains a major cause of concern and obesity among adults is increasing.
Socioeconomic, geographic (urban/rural, states, districts, etc.) and health and nutritional factors are relevant in identifying the needs of groups experiencing or at a high risk of malnutrition. In addition, companies should also recognize the nutrition and health priorities set out in the National Nutrition Strategy and Vision 2022 – Kuposhan Mukt Bharat and/or POSHAN Abhiyaan (Prime Ministers’ Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) as part of India’s National Development Agenda in the development of their nutrition strategies .
Full India Index Context chapterHindustan Unilever undertakes market research to assess unmet needs of groups experiencing or at high risk of malnutrition
Hindustan Unilever is one of two companies that have undertaken comprehensive market research to assess unmet needs of groups experiencing or at high risk of undernutrition and/or micronutrient deficiencies. Hindustan Unilever uses datasets from Government-led surveys such as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) to identify nutritional gaps and needs that the company wishes to meet.
Nestlé India prevents food loss in its Moga milk procurement program
Among the initiatives Nestlé has in place to prevent food loss and waste, its India’s fresh milk district model in Moga for direct procurement is notable, which enables the company to provide logistical support to farmers to prevent wastage of milk or compromise its quality during transit. The model is an easy-to-implement, cost-efficient measure that helps the company to ensure that only high-quality milk is used in its products. The company also deploys cold chain mechanisms to secure the quality of milk during transit, collects milk twice a day so that famers have zero storage expenses, while ensuring uniform storage conditions for milk throughout the value chain and avoiding milk waste.
India-headquartered companies Britannia Industries and ITC publish nutrition policies
Britannia Industries and ITC are the only two India-headquartered companies to have formalized their commitments and approaches on addressing nutrition and nutrition-related issues in India. Britannia Industries’ Nutrition Policy (newly adopted since the 2016 assessment) is publicly available. The policy provides consumers with the company’s overarching nutrition-related objectives on various parameters such as nutrients to limit and encourage; the company’s R&D focus on development of healthier product choices; commitments to address country-specific malnutrition, defining nutrition criteria; and commitments on nutrition labelling, claims and responsible marketing. ITC’s Food Products Policy (also publicly available) outlines elements to tackle undernutrition through micronutrient fortification and affordability strategies and overweight and obesity through reformulation.
To improve and accelerate efforts towards improving consumers’ nutrition, food and beverage manufacturers in India are encouraged to:
To improve and accelerate their efforts towards robust nutrition governance and management systems, food and beverage manufacturers in India are encouraged to:
Reporting on tackling obesity and diet-related diseases in India
Reporting on tackling undernutrition and/or micronutrient deficiencies in India
Recommendations
To improve their transparency about how they are improving consumers’ access to nutrition, the 16 major food and beverage manufacturers in India assessed for this Index are encouraged to: