DELHI, INDIA, May 11, 2002: Officials in India are considering categorizing and labeling all cosmetics and personal hygiene products as vegetarian or non-vegetarian. The practicalities of implementing the idea are now being considered by a technical committee and the courts. Many Hindus in India are strictly vegetarian for religious reasons — and some pro-Hindu political groups often express concern about non-vegetarian ingredients in food, especially products imported from the West. If approved, all personal hygiene products and cosmetics would be tested by officials, categorized as vegetarian and non-vegetarian and labeled accordingly. Advocates of the plan stress that consumers have the right to make an informed choice. Critics cite the effect on business, particularly on imports and exports, and the expense of comprehensive testing and labeling. A similar plan to categorize medicines in the same way was earlier rejected, partly, from concerns that if critical drugs were classed as non-vegetarian, strict vegetarians might be deterred from accepting them.
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