New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed an expert committee to submit its recommendations within three months on the proposed move to introduce mandatory warning labels on the front of packaged food items by amending the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued the directive on Wednesday while dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by 3S and Our Health Society, a non-profit organisation, seeking directions to make front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) mandatory for packaged foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat—substances linked to lifestyle diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular ailments.
In September 2022, amendments were proposed to the 2020 FSS labelling and display regulations, introducing Indian Nutritional Rating (INR) for FOPL. This essentially required the packaged foods to be rated on a scale of 0.5 to 5 stars, with a higher star rating indicating a healthier product.
An affidavit filed before the top court by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said that it had already begun the amendment process and received over 14,000 public comments on the proposed labelling norms, following which an expert committee was constituted in February 2023 to examine the objections and suggest changes.
“We dispose of the petition with a direction to the expert committee to prepare its recommendation and submit a report in that regard at the earliest so that relying on the report, the necessary amendments can be given effect to. Let this exercise be taken within a period of three months from today,” the bench noted in its order.
The court listed the matter after three months to enable Centre to report compliance of its directions.
The petitioner, represented by advocate Rajiv Shankar Dwivedi, differed with the star-rating based INR, arguing that this practice is not globally accepted and fails to provide clear information to consumers about whether a product has unhealthy contents. Rather, Dwivedi suggested the court for having a front-of-package warning label disclosing the high content of sugar, salt or unhealthy fats, saying it could help consumers to take an informed choice about purchasing a product.
The PIL filed in 2024 had argued that the FSSAI has already delayed action by failing to implement the 2022 amendments in the labelling and display regulations. Dwivedi said the government cannot delay further on this issue as there is an alarming rise in non-communicable deaths linked to diabetes and heart ailments. Describing diabetes as a silent epidemic, the petition cited World Health Organisation (WHO) reports recommending a robust policy framework to reduce consumption of junk foods.
On the other hand, the Centre in an affidavit defended the INR model, claiming it integrates both “critical nutrients” (such as added sugars, sodium, and saturated fats) and “positive components” (like fibre, protein, and certain legumes and nuts) in its scoring system. “This balanced approach helps consumers understand the overall healthiness of a product, rather than focussing solely on its negative aspects,” the affidavit added.