According to the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, “Principal Display Panel means that part of the container/package which is intended or likely to be displayed or presented or shown or examined by the customer under normal and customary conditions of display, sale or purchase of the commodity contained therein.”

In simple words it means that part of the container or package that the customers will first read if it is on display in a shop or which they will pick up to read and examine if they want to purchase that commodity. The principal display is what the salesperson will show to the customer if the customer has asked to buy that particular packaged product.

According to regulations the Principal Display Panel normally gives the identity of the food like, Jam, Pickle in a specific way, where the height of the letters are to be of specific height. It also mentions the net quantity or amount of the product in the specific container of package the numerals for which have to be of specific height as mentioned in regulations.

Besides the Principal Display Panel there is an alternate display panel which has the identical information as the Principal Display Panel. Information on the Principal Display Panel has to be clear, easily readable and cannot be obscured by design, vignettes, or crowding. For the packages of the same size the quantity of the contents need to be in uniform size as directed by regulations.

The space occupied by the Principal Display Panel according to FSS Regulations will be

  • In case the container is rectangular then the space occupied by the Principal Display Panel must be in 40% of the available space when height is multiplied by width of the package in the area where the package is the broadest.
  • In case the container is cylindrical or nearly cylindrical, round or nearly round, oval or nearly oval container then the Principal Display Panel must be on 20% of the available space when the height of the container is multiplied by the average circumference.
  • In case the container/ package is of any other shape then 20% of the total surface area will contain the Principal Display Panel but only if there is no label affixed securely to the container. If a label has been affixed then the surface area of the label that works as the PDP must not be less than 10% of the total surface area of the container.  Principal Display Panel can be must be tape or card affixed to the package or container if it has the capacity of only 5 cubic centimeters and must bear all the required information according to regulations.