The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed prominent red warning labels on the front of packaged foods high in added fat, added sugar or salt, marking a significant shift by the regulator a fortnight after the Supreme Court questioned its reluctance to introduce such warnings.
The labels are designed to allow consumers to identify such products at a glance. The court had then questioned FSSAI’s reluctance to adopt warning labels for foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat and asked whether pressure from food manufacturers was influencing the regulator. “You don’t want people of this country to remain healthy? Next time we will dictate the judgement,” it had added. The court had made clear that its concern was not about banning any particular food but ensuring that consumers, particularly children, knew what they were consuming before making a choice.
The thresholds would be those prescribed under the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). The shift comes after the Supreme Court’s intervention on August 13, when a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran gave the Centre and FSSAI two weeks to place their final decision on front-of-pack labelling on record.
The FSSAI said the proposal was prepared to provide consumers with “simple, prominent and easily comprehensible” information about food products high in specified nutrients of concern. The regulator said the approach was intended to facilitate informed food choices, particularly for children and other vulnerable sections of the population. More particularly growing children?” the bench had asked, warning the authorities: “This is your last chance. The FSSAI has told the court that the proposed changes will be notified through amendments to the relevant regulations after following the prescribed procedure.
The proposal, disclosed in a compliance affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on Thursday, envisages a red hexagonal warning on the front of food packages where the product is high in any two or more of the specified nutrients of concern —fat, sugar or salt.
