The Supreme Court has sought detailed clarifications from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on its proposed front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) regime, questioning whether ultra-processed foods should be assessed in the same manner as other packaged foods. According to the latest order made public on Friday, a Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran has asked whether FSSAI will distinguish between moderately processed foods without additives and excessively processed foods containing additives while fixing thresholds for nutrients of concern. The query follows the classification in the 2024 Dietary Guidelines for Indians issued by ICMR-NIN, which divides foods into Groups A, B and C according to their degree of processing, with the categories further divided by calorific value and identifying A2, A3, B2, B3, C2 and C3 as foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).
The All India Food Processors' Association, representing dozens of Indian and foreign food giants including Nestle, Unilever, Mondelez and Mars, has moved the Supreme Court against FSSAI's plan to mandate front-of-pack red flags for packaged food with high fat, sugar or salt content. As reported by Business Standard, the association's lawyer held a food packet during Thursday's hearing, explaining that 'nobody can eat 100 grams of pickle,' and warning labels should be decided on a per-serve basis rather than analyzing salt and sugar in 100 grams of a product. The United States has proposed per-serve front-of-pack labelling, which Indian industry favours, though many other countries use the 100-gram benchmark approach. The association has specifically argued that FSSAI should take 'account of Indian dietary context and consumer consumption patterns' as labels risk covering 80 of products with warnings, and the labels need 'further scientific examination'. The All India Food Processors' Association says 80% of packaged food could be flagged in India as having high fat, sugar or salt content under the proposed labelling rule.
After years of delays, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India last month suggested a two-phased labelling programme, starting with red-coloured hexagonal warning labels on products that exceeded limits in at least two of three categories - added sugar, salt or saturated fat. According to Business Standard, health experts criticized this approach, calling it an 'industry-friendly loophole' that disregarded public health, as many products would escape scrutiny. The petitioner, 3S and Our Health Society, has challenged the 'two-or-more' trigger as scientifically unsound, arguing that excessive sugar, salt and saturated fat pose independent health risks. The nationwide debate on food safety has intensified since Reuters reported that India's government opted for a weaker labelling regime after lobbying by Coca-Cola and groups backing Nestle and PepsiCo, which argued warning labels were ineffective. The food safety regulator's proposal came amid public anger after Reuters reported that India's government had yielded to industry lobbying in March when Coca-Cola and groups backing Nestle and PepsiCo opposed having warning labels on the front of food and drinks packaging.
The Supreme Court has questioned the proposed design of the warnings, including the absence of specifications on the size of the red hexagon and whether its dimensions should be proportionate to the front-of-pack area. According to the latest order, it asked why separate symbols could not be used for individual nutrients instead of combining multiple warnings in one hexagon. The Bench also suggested supplementing text-based warnings with pictorial representations to make them accessible across different literacy levels, languages and age groups, including consumers shopping online. The choice of red has also come under scrutiny because consumers commonly associate red food symbols with non-vegetarian products. The Court has also flagged a potential unintended consequence: reducing sugar, fat or salt could encourage manufacturers to increase the use of preservatives, emulsifiers and other additives. It has asked FSSAI to consider this risk while finalising the framework. The Court has also sought clarity on whether FoPL compliance will be mandatory immediately after notification or follow a transition period, and asked the Union government how nutritional literacy could be introduced through schools, curricula and workshops.
Rising obesity rates and consumption of fatty foods are growing concerns among health experts and the Indian government. As reported by Business Standard, some 450 million Indians could be obese or overweight by 2050, according to a recent study published in the Lancet medical journal. High sugar content is a particular risk in India, which accounts for about a quarter of all global cases of diabetes, with more than 101 million people in India living with diabetes, while another 136 million have prediabetes, according to Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk. India's packaged food market grew to ₹137.25 billion in 2026, from ₹129.18 billion in 2025, and is projected to reach ₹238.83 billion by 2034, according to research firm IMARC Group. Around 6 billion meals eaten in Indian households and on street corners every year are Maggi two-minute masala noodles, made by Swiss food giant Nestle, with the product's success strengthening Nestle's foothold in what is today the company's fastest-growing region.
