Over 80% of packaged foods in India have high levels of artificial flavours, sugar

A new India-wide analysis found artificial additives, colours and flavours across many packaged foods. The findings add to concerns over ultra-processed diets, especially among children.

In Short

• More than 80% of biscuits and cookies contained flavours and palm oil
• Nearly all carbonated drinks and most convenience meals showed additive use
• Only 14.7% of consumers checked ingredient lists despite reading labels

Artificial flavours, colours and additives are present in a large number of packaged foods sold in India, including biscuits, breakfast cereals, cold drinks and instant meals, according to a new analysis that examined more than 23,000 food and beverage products across the country.

The report, released by NatFirst and its consumer nutrition platform TruthIn, analysed packaged food labels across more than 25 categories using AI-driven tools.

Researchers found that artificial additives were repeatedly used across several products that are commonly consumed every day, including by children.

Among the biggest findings, more than 80% of packaged biscuits and cookies were found to contain artificial flavours and palm oil.

The report also found:

• Around 60–70% of sweetened breakfast products contained artificial additives.
• About 80% of extruded snacks were high in sodium.
• Around 80% of chocolates and desserts exceeded added sugar thresholds and were high in saturated fat.
• Nearly 78% of ready-to-drink dairy beverages were high in added sugar.
• About 98% of carbonated drinks contained artificial additives.
• Around 90% of convenience meals were high in sodium.
• Nearly 96% of convenience meals contained artificial additives.

“The data is crystal clear and the patterns are consistent. Across multiple categories a shared set of HFSS ingredients, artificial flavours and colours appear repeatedly,” said Dr. Aman Sheikh Basheer, Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer, TruthIn.

“Many of the products are consumed daily, often by children, and some are even frequently positioned as healthy or suitable for regular consumption,” he added.

ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS ARE CONCERNING

The findings come at a time when India is witnessing a sharp rise in the consumption of ultra-processed foods. According to the report, processed packaged foods and beverages now account for one of the largest shares of household food spending in both rural and urban India.

Researchers noted that while many consumers check food labels, very few actually read ingredient lists carefully.

A study by the National Institute of Nutrition cited in the report found that although 75.4% of consumers said they read food labels, only 14.7% checked ingredient lists. Most people focused mainly on expiry dates and brand names.

The experts have increasingly raised concerns over the long-term health impact of diets high in ultra-processed foods.

These foods are often linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease because of their high salt, sugar and unhealthy fat content, along with the use of additives and flavouring agents.

INDIA'S OBESITY BURDEN

The findings raise concerns highlighted in the Economic Survey 2025–26, which linked the growing consumption of ultra-processed foods to India’s rising obesity burden.

The survey also flagged aggressive marketing, especially targeting children and adolescents, as a major driver behind increasing consumption.

The analysis was based on label data collected between January 2024 and November 2025 from more than 1.3 million consumer-led product scans, covering a product library of over 60,000 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units).

The TruthIn rating system used a weighted model based on three key factors, category-specific nutrition, ingredient quality and level of processing, benchmarked against guidelines from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A study published earlier in The Lancet showed that the global burden of obesity increased with the increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods retail sales of ultra-processed foods, industrial formulations high in fat, sugar, salt and cosmetic additives, which rose from just $0.9 billion in 2006 to $38 billion in 2019. During the same period, obesity rates in India doubled.

Researchers said the findings underline the need for greater awareness around ingredient lists and not just calorie counts or marketing claims on the front of packets.

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