Parle-G is India's most popular glucose biscuit, launched in 1939 as Parle Glucose, rebranded to Parle-G, and known for its consistent orange packaging with a baby mascot. It positions as an energy-giving snack but belongs to NOVA group 4 (ultra-processed) due to refined wheat flour, sugar, palm oil, and additives.
Red flags present. Best treated as an avoid-for-regular-use product unless the underlying evidence changes.
The issue is frequency: the red flags make this a poor default, even if rare use carries lower practical concern.
This card is the decision shortcut. The detailed evidence and citations live in the six-axis cards below.
Meets the RED threshold because sugar is 24g per 100g (≥10g/100g for solids). The ingredients list also has Sugar as the #2 ingredient, reinforcing high added/free sugar load.
Evidence is from the brand’s product page citation.
Evidence indicates NOVA Group 4-style formulation (ultra-processed) with refined flour, added sugar, palm oil, and additives/emulsifiers; and because at least one other axis fails (Sugar load is RED), this matches the RED threshold for processing tier (NOVA 4 + any other axis failure). Evidence is from the ingredients and product page citation.
Meets the RED threshold because saturated fat is 12g per 100g (> 5g/100g for solids). Ingredients also include partially hydrogenated palm oil, which increases trans-fat concern, but the saturated fat number alone triggers RED.
Evidence is from the brand’s product page citation.
Meets the YELLOW threshold because sodium is 600mg per 100g, which falls in the 300–625mg/100g range. Evidence is from the brand’s product page citation.
Meets the YELLOW threshold because the positioning as an energy/glucose biscuit (e. g.
, “glucose energy for genius”) is soft health framing while the product has high sugar (24g/100g) and is ultra-processed; however, no explicit adverse ruling is provided in the research. Evidence is from the brand’s product page citation and the research summary’s framing; no separate ruling citation is available.
Marked GREEN due to insufficient product-specific adverse action evidence in the research: it states no FSSAI recalls, license suspensions, or court cases specific to Parle-G. The provided source is the FSSAI site, but no specific enforcement document is cited here, so this is based on the research statement rather than a discrete recall/case record.
| Energy | 458 kcal ⚑ High-calorie density from carbs/fats. |
| Carbohydrates | 50g ⚑ **Of which sugars: 24g** (free sugars high). |
| Total Fat | 22g ⚑ **Saturated: 12g**; palm oil dominant. |
| Sodium | 600mg ⚑ From added salt. |
| Protein | 6.2g ⚑ Minimal. |
Wheat Flour (Refined), Sugar, Edible Vegetable Oil (Palm Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Palm), Invert Syrup, Leavening Agents (503(ii), 500(ii), 341(i)), Salt, Yeast, Emulsifiers (322), Dough Conditioner (223), Improver (1101), Milk Solids.
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"Even as the Allies and the Axis blew conch shells for the Second World War, Parle baked its first biscuit in India. 1939"