Understanding What is the Red and Brown Mark on Food Packets

December 23, 2025 •

2 min read

Over 90% of consumers have seen the small colored dots on food packaging but don't know their purpose. If you've ever asked yourself what is the red and brown mark on food packets, the answer likely falls into one of two distinct categories: a technical printer's mark or a dietary indicator, depending on your location.

Quick Summary

The red and brown marks found on food packets are either technical control patches for printing quality or, in specific countries like India, they are mandatory symbols indicating non-vegetarian contents. The meaning depends on context and location.

Key Points

Two meanings: The red/brown mark is either a printer's quality control mark (globally) or a non-vegetarian dietary symbol (in India).
Printer's Mark Function: It's a 'process control patch' used to check ink alignment and color consistency during mass production.
Dietary Symbol Context: In India, a brown symbol (circle or triangle) indicates non-vegetarian food, as mandated by FSSAI regulations.
Consumer Relevance: For most consumers, the marks are irrelevant to the product inside, but for Indian shoppers, they provide critical dietary information.
Not an Expiry Indicator: The marks have nothing to do with expiration dates, freshness, or food safety for consumers.
Color Blindness: FSSAI updated the non-vegetarian symbol to a brown triangle to better assist color-blind individuals.

Deciphering the Printer's Mark

For most of the world, including North America and Europe, the small dots, squares, or circles of color seen on packaging are known as 'process control patches' or 'printer's color blocks'. These marks are not for consumers, but rather for the manufacturer's quality assurance team.

The CMYK Printing Process

These marks relate to the CMYK color model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key/Black) used in commercial printing. Each color is applied in layers, and the dots allow technicians to check the density and alignment (registration) of these layers. Proper alignment ensures the final image isn't blurry. Red, often represented by Magenta in CMYK, and brown, created by mixing colors, are part of this check.

Importance of Consistent Color

Maintaining consistent color is crucial for brand identity. These control patches help ensure that packaging color remains uniform across millions of items, preventing deviations that could harm brand trust.

The Indian Dietary Symbol: A Mandatory Indicator

In India, the red and brown mark serves a different purpose. According to the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, packaged food must display a mark indicating whether it's vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

The FSSAI Regulations

The symbol for non-vegetarian food is a brown-filled circle within a brown square. To aid those with color blindness, a brown-filled triangle inside a brown square was also introduced in 2021. Vegetarian food is marked with a green circle inside a green square. Non-vegetarian food includes any part of an animal, except for milk and milk products. This symbol helps consumers make quick dietary choices. While some may recall a red dot, the current legal mark for non-vegetarian content in India is brown.

Comparison: Printer's Mark vs. Dietary Symbol


Feature	Printer's Mark	Indian Dietary Symbol
Purpose	Quality control for printing	Consumer information on dietary content
Audience	Printers and manufacturers	General consumers in India
Appearance	Often a row of CMYK (or other) colors	Standardized brown circle/triangle in a brown square
Location	Along packaging edges, seams, or flaps	Prominently on the principal display panel
Mandatory?	No, but standard industry practice	Yes, legally required in India for packaged foods
Indicates	Ink density and alignment	Presence of non-vegetarian ingredients

Conclusion: Context is Key

The meaning of the red and brown mark on food packets depends on context. Globally, they are primarily printer's marks for quality control. In India, they are legally mandated dietary symbols indicating non-vegetarian content. Understanding the location where the food was packaged clarifies the mark's purpose. For further reading on packaging printing, consult resources like the Kennisinstituut Duurzaam Verpakken.

Frequently Asked Questions

In most countries, the colored dots are called 'process control patches' and are used by printers to ensure color accuracy and alignment during the manufacturing process.

No, the red or brown dietary symbol is a legally mandated indicator specifically in India for non-vegetarian food. In other countries, a similar colored dot is likely a printing industry quality control mark.

Printers use red (or magenta) and brown (a mix of colors) as part of their standard CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) color set to check ink consistency and ensure that all colors print correctly without blurring.

In India, yes, a green-filled circle in a green square is the official symbol for vegetarian food. However, outside of India, a green dot is typically just another printer's process mark.

No, the colored dots are unrelated to the freshness, safety, or expiry date of the food. These are technical marks for the packaging's production.

While older systems might have used a red dot, the current and legally defined symbol for non-vegetarian food in India is a brown-filled circle or triangle inside a brown square. The green symbol is for vegetarian food.

Consumers should pay attention to the nutrition label, ingredient list (ingredients are listed by descending weight), expiration dates, and allergen warnings, as these provide actual information about the food product.