There’s good news for the visually impaired as well as persons with low vision in the country.
The country’s top food regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an advisory to the Food Business Operators to ensure the QR codes on product labels that encompass comprehensive details about the product, including nutritional information, allergens, manufacturing date, best before/ expiry/use by date, allergen warning, and contact information for customer inquiries.
A food QR Code is one that shares detailed information about a food product, helping the visually impaired people to make informed decisions before purchasing. However only those having smartphone will be able to avail these vital labels.
“It is pertinent to note that the inclusion of a QR code for the accessibility of information does not replace or negate the requirement to provide mandatory information on the product label, as prescribed by relevant regulations,” FSSAI advisory said.
However, the food regulator’s move has come amid a legal case filed in the Delhi High Court in May this year. Besides food products, the public interest litigation (PIL) in the court has sought QR codes on all medicinal products to make them accessible to visually impaired persons.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad had issued a notice to the Centre, FSSAI, and Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) on a petition by The Kapila and Nirmal Hingorani Foundation as well as Dr Smriti Singh and Shobhan Singh, both of whom are visually impaired.
Lawyer Aman Hingorani, representing the petitioners, had asserted that a smartphone can scan QR codes containing the requisite information about the product and convert it to speech format. The plea said that employing QR codes would increase the efficacy of medical care for visually impaired patients by reducing medication errors, incorrect dosages, unintended drug interactions and side effects. It can also combat the growing menace of counterfeit and substandard medicine. By including QR codes for accessibility by visually impaired individuals, the move is in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Those in the sector says that introducing QR codes on packaged food could be a game changer as this would help visually challenged and partially sighted communities more easily access product information from product packaging both in a store and in a home setting.
“QR Codes are definitely one of the most important steps that would make a life little more easier for people like me. Also, I feel since finding such products itself a hassle at the shopping malls or stores, there should be QR codes informing such corners,” said visually impaired Preeti Monga who is the founder of NGO Silver Linings engaged in education and empowerment of blind people.
“The visually impaired persons have the constitutional and fundamental right to equality and the right to lead their lives with dignity and there remains huge scope for utilising the capabilities of smartphones and QR codes to help them identify products and access relevant product information,” the plea said, echoing Monga’s concerns.
The petition has urged directions to the Centre to secure effective access for visually impaired persons to medicines, food, cosmetics and other consumer products by taking comprehensive measures to affix QR codes on such products. There are an estimated 4.95 million people blind (0.36% of the total population), 35 million people visually impaired (2.55%), and 0.24 million blind children in India, as per the government data.