The Supreme Court of India has issued a directive to an expert committee, mandating the submission of recommendations within three months regarding mandatory warning labels on packaged food products. This decision comes in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) aimed at combating lifestyle diseases associated with high consumption of sugar, salt, and saturated fats.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan emphasized the urgency of implementing front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) to enhance consumer awareness of food product contents. The proposed amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, seek to introduce an Indian Nutritional Rating (INR), which would rate food items on a scale from 0.5 to 5 stars based on their healthiness.
The move is backed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which initiated the amendment process after receiving over 14,000 public comments on the proposed changes. An expert committee was set up in February 2023 to address these comments and refine the amendment proposals.
“We dispose of the petition with a directive to the expert committee to prepare its recommendation and submit a report within three months so that the necessary amendments can be effectively implemented,” the court noted in its order. The matter is scheduled for a follow-up in three months to ensure compliance with the directive.
The PIL, filed by the non-profit organization 3S and Our Health Society, challenges the current star-rating based INR model, arguing that it does not meet global standards for transparency and fails to adequately inform consumers about potentially harmful contents. The petitioners advocate for explicit warning labels that clearly disclose high levels of sugar, salt, or unhealthy fats, facilitating more informed consumer choices.
The government, defending the INR model in an affidavit, described it as a balanced approach that considers both critical and positive nutrients, thereby providing a comprehensive view of a product’s overall health impact.
