Overview
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India filed a compliance affidavit to the Supreme Court on Friday proposing red, hexagonal front-of-pack labels that read “HIGH FAT,” “HIGH SUGAR,” “HIGH SALT” or “HIGHLY SWEETENED BEVERAGE.”
- Under the plan the label would appear when a product is high in any two or more of added saturated fat, added sugar and salt using ICMR‑NIN 2024 thresholds, with a two‑phase rollout that later extends warnings to products high in any single nutrient.
- FSSAI proposes exemptions for single‑ingredient or foods inherently rich in those nutrients, such as ghee, edible oils, sugar, jaggery and salt, and says the rule will become binding only after formal regulatory amendment.
- Public‑health experts warn the two‑or‑more trigger, the focus on ‘added’ nutrients and the small visibility requirement (one point larger than back‑of‑pack type) could let many high‑risk products avoid warnings and weaken the labels’ impact.
- The move follows sharp criticism from a Supreme Court bench about delays on front‑of‑pack labelling and will return to the Court for further hearing, with the labels’ final design, timelines and legal text to be decided through the rule‑making process.