Supreme Court Seeks Clear Timeline for Food Warning Labels in India

India’s Supreme Court has asked the government to set out a clear path for introducing warning labels on packaged food, giving it 10 days to provide a timeline for implementation. 

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The direction puts the proposed front-of-pack labelling rules back in focus after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) suggested a two-stage approach last month. The plan covers packaged products with higher levels of added sugar, salt or saturated fat. 

Court Raises Concern Over Two-Phase Rollout 

Under FSSAI’s proposal, the first phase would introduce red hexagonal warnings on products that exceed prescribed limits in at least two of three categories — added sugar, salt or saturated fat. 

A stricter set of requirements was intended to follow in the second phase. The Supreme Court, however, raised concerns over the absence of a definite schedule for that stage. 

In its order issued late on Thursday, the court indicated that without a specific timeline, the second phase could be delayed indefinitely. It also did not accept consumer response or the time required by food companies to reformulate products as sufficient reasons for leaving the implementation schedule open-ended. 

The government’s food regulator will now examine the court’s order. According to a government source cited in the Reuters report, FSSAI is willing to consider implementing both phases together. 

Warning Labels Have Faced Industry Opposition 

The proposed rules come amid wider scrutiny of food safety in India, including regulatory inspections of eateries across the country. 

Warning labels have also been a point of disagreement between public-health campaigners and the food industry. Food and beverage companies have opposed the proposed labels, arguing that they could be confusing and ineffective. 

The debate intensified after Reuters reported last month that the government had opted for a weaker labelling framework following lobbying by Coca-Cola and groups representing Nestlé and PepsiCo. Those companies had opposed the warning-label approach, according to the report. 

The Supreme Court’s latest direction does not itself set an implementation date. Instead, it requires the government to provide a defined timeline within 10 days, bringing the timing of the proposed food-labelling regime under closer judicial scrutiny.