Is "best before" the same as an expiry date?

"Best before" indicates the date after which quality may decline — the product is still safe to consume after this date but may not be at peak flavour or texture. "Use by" is a safety date — consuming after this date may pose health risks and should be avoided.

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Disease & Diet

12 min read

July 5, 2026

How to Read Indian Food Labels 2026 | Complete Guide | AaharIQ

The definitive guide to reading Indian food labels. FSSAI label requirements explained, ingredient list decoded, nutrition information panel interpretation, marketing claim traps, and how AaharIQ read

The 6 Parts of Every Indian Food Label (FSSAI Mandated)

Label Element	FSSAI Requirement	What to Look For	Common Manipulation
1. Product Name	Must reflect true nature of product	Is the name descriptive of what's actually inside?	"Fruit drink" ≠ juice; may be 5–10% fruit. "Milk beverage" ≠ milk.
2. Ingredient List	All ingredients in descending order by weight	What are the first 3 ingredients? Are sugar/fat/salt dominant?	Multiple sugar forms split across positions; "natural flavouring" hides MSG derivatives
3. Nutrition Information Panel (NIP)	Energy, protein, carbohydrates, total sugar, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium per 100g AND per serving	Check per serving size — is it realistic? Compare per 100g across brands.	Tiny serving sizes make numbers look small; "per serving" on a 250g product declared as 4 servings
4. Allergen Declarations	Mandatory: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, sesame	Bold or highlighted in ingredient list	May miss derivatives; "may contain traces" is voluntary in India
5. FSSAI License Number	Mandatory — verifies regulatory approval	Check it exists and is current	Some products use expired/invalid license numbers
6. Best Before / Use By	Mandatory date marking	Check before purchase; understand "best before" ≠ "expires on"	"Best before" = quality date; "use by" = safety date. Canned/dry goods: often fine after best-before.

The Ingredient List: The Truth No Marketing Can Hide

The ingredient list is the single most important part of any Indian food label. Under FSSAI regulations, it must list every ingredient by its common name in descending order by weight (most to least). What it reveals:

• Ingredient #1 = primary component. If "refined wheat flour (maida)" is #1, the product is primarily maida regardless of "multigrain" claims on the front.

• Sugar in any form in the first 3 = high-sugar product. Sugar, glucose syrup, dextrose, maltodextrin in positions 1–3 means the product is predominantly sugar.

• "Nature-identical flavouring" or "artificial flavouring" = synthetic chemicals designed to taste like fruit, butter, or other natural foods. Not a safety concern at regulated doses, but not "natural."

• "Edible vegetable oil" without specification = almost certainly palm oil. FSSAI requires naming the specific oil type from April 2021, but enforcement is inconsistent.

• E-numbers in the ingredient list = food additives. Cross-reference with AaharIQ or our Article 35 guide to understand each one.

Nutrition Information Panel: How to Read It Correctly

The Per-100g vs Per-Serving Trap

FSSAI requires NIP to show both per 100g and per serving. Manufacturers set serving sizes — and they routinely set them unrealistically small to make numbers look better. A 200g packet of biscuits may declare a "serving" of 25g (5 biscuits) when most people eat 8–10 biscuits (40–50g). Always multiply per-serving numbers by how many servings you actually consume.

Reading Sugar Correctly

"Total sugars" on the NIP includes naturally occurring and added sugars combined. For packaged food with no dairy (which has natural lactose), all sugars are essentially added. A product with 22g total sugar per 100g has 22g of added sugar per 100g — equivalent to 5.5 teaspoons of sugar per 100g of product.

Reading Sodium Correctly

Sodium ≠ salt. Salt is approximately 40% sodium and 60% chloride. To convert sodium to salt equivalent: multiply sodium by 2.5. A product with 600mg sodium per 100g contains 1,500mg salt (1.5g salt) per 100g. WHO recommends maximum 5g salt (2,000mg sodium) per day.

Marketing Claims That Are Misleading Under Indian Law

Marketing Claim	What It Implies	What It Actually Means (FSSAI)	Verdict
"Multigrain"	Multiple healthy whole grains	Simply means >1 grain type — may be 90% maida + trace amounts of other grains	⚠️ Misleading — check ingredient list
"No added sugar"	Sugar-free; safe for diabetics	No sugar added at manufacture — but may contain glucose syrup, maltodextrin, or high-sugar fruit concentrate	⚠️ Misleading — check for sugar aliases
"Low fat"	Healthy; good for weight loss	FSSAI: <3g fat per 100g. But fat is often replaced by sugar to maintain palatability.	⚠️ Often high-sugar replacement for fat
"Natural"	From nature; no chemicals	No regulatory definition in India — any product can use this claim	❌ Completely unregulated in India
"Fortified with vitamins"	Nutritious; good for children	May add small amounts of vitamins to a fundamentally unhealthy product (high sugar, refined flour)	⚠️ Misleading — vitamins don't redeem an unhealthy base product
"High protein"	Significant protein content; good for fitness	FSSAI: >10g protein per 100g. But protein quality (completeness) is not assessed.	⚠️ Check amino acid quality; plant proteins may be incomplete
"Zero trans fat"	Contains no trans fat	FSSAI allows products with up to 0.2g/100g to claim "zero trans fat"	⚠️ May contain trace trans fats

In India, any food product can call itself "natural." Any product can call itself "multigrain." Any product with trace amounts of 5 vitamins can call itself "fortified." These claims have no regulatory threshold requirement in India. The only truth is in the ingredient list and the nutrition information panel.

AaharIQ: Instant Label Intelligence

AaharIQ automates the entire label-reading process in 3 seconds. Instead of manually parsing ingredient lists, calculating per-serving vs per-100g figures, identifying sugar aliases, and cross-referencing additives — AaharIQ does all of this instantly on barcode scan. The app provides: a truthful product name (what it actually is based on ingredients), total sugar from all sources, total sodium from all sources, additive safety ratings, health filter assessments, and a plain-language verdict.

You should not need 10 minutes of food chemistry knowledge to know whether a product is healthy. AaharIQ democratises food label intelligence — so every Indian consumer gets in 3 seconds what currently requires a nutritionist to evaluate.

Frequently Asked Questions

In order of importance: (1) Ingredient list — what are the first 3 ingredients? That is what the product primarily is. (2) Per 100g total sugar. (3) Per 100g sodium — check if it fits within your daily 2,000mg limit. (4) Presence of trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils.

Without AaharIQ — you're scanning labels with your naked eye, missing hidden additives, E-numbers, and FSSAI violations that could silently harm your health over time.

AaharIQ · Free AI Food Scanner