New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave the Centre a final two-week window to take a decision on front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat, warning that it would issue further directions if the government failed to act.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran questioned the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over the delay in deciding whether such warning labels should be made mandatory. The court stressed that the issue was directly connected with protecting public health, particularly the health of children.
The court also questioned whether pressure from food companies was influencing the regulator's position. During the hearing, the bench asked the Centre whether it was “succumbing” to pressure from corporate houses and made it clear that commercial interests could not take precedence over the health of citizens.
The proposed front-of-pack labelling system is aimed at making it easier for consumers to identify products containing excessive levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat. Instead of requiring shoppers to study detailed nutritional information on the back of a packet, warning symbols on the front would provide an immediate indication of potentially unhealthy nutritional content.
The government, however, has raised concerns about how such a system would work in the Indian context. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Brijender Chahar argued that strict warning labels could result in traditional Indian foods such as namkeen being marked because of their salt or fat content. He also questioned whether international nutritional standards could be directly applied to Indian dietary habits.
The Supreme Court was not convinced that such concerns should prevent consumers from receiving clearer information. The bench said the purpose of the proposed labels was not to ban any particular food but to ensure that people knew what they were consuming before making a purchase.
The controversy follows an earlier direction from the Supreme Court asking FSSAI to examine the possibility of introducing mandatory front-of-pack warning labels. In February, the court had said the issue raised important concerns relating to citizens' right to health and asked the regulator to consider the proposal.
FSSAI has previously indicated that it was considering a nutritional table displaying recommended daily intake values for added sugar, saturated fat and salt rather than direct warning symbols. Health experts have argued that such a format may be less effective because consumers would have to interpret the information themselves.
The Supreme Court has now given the Centre two weeks to place its final decision on record. If no satisfactory action is taken, the bench has warned that it may issue its own directions.
The case could therefore have major implications for food packaging and consumer awareness in India, particularly for products marketed heavily to children and young consumers.
