MUMBAI: Packaged food could soon have a red flag and this one would be impossible to miss. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed a red hexagonal front-of-pack warning system for packaged foods high in added sugar, added saturated fat or salt, submitting the proposal to the Supreme Court through a six-page compliance affidavit on Friday
The proposal comes in a Public Interest Litigation filed by 3S And Our Health Society, which is seeking mandatory front-of-pack warnings for packaged foods high in fat, sugar and salt
Under the proposed system, products crossing the prescribed limits for at least two of the specified nutrients would carry a red warning symbol on the front of the pack. The thresholds would be determined using the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN)
Depending on the nutritional composition, the warning could read ‘High Fat’, ‘High Sugar’ or ‘High Salt’. Specified sweetened beverages would carry a separate ‘Highly Sweetened Beverage’ declaration. Where a product crosses the threshold for more than one nutrient, the relevant warnings would be combined
FSSAI has also proposed making the warnings more prominent than the existing nutrition information on the back of the pack. The font inside the warning symbol would be one point larger than the font used in the nutrition information table
The regulator has proposed a two-stage rollout, with the first phase covering products exceeding the limits for two or more specified nutrients, along with specified highly sweetened beverages. The second phase would extend the requirement to products exceeding the prescribed limit for any one of the specified nutrients
The phased approach is intended to give food manufacturers time for product reformulation while ensuring consumers receive clearer nutritional information. FSSAI said the system would help consumers make more informed choices, particularly children and other vulnerable groups
Not every food would fall under the proposed warning regime. Single-ingredient products and foods that are inherently high in fat, sugar or salt would be excluded. The categories listed in the affidavit include ghee, edible oil, salt, sugar, jaggery and honey. These products would continue to be governed by other applicable food safety and labelling requirements
The proposal also marks a shift in FSSAI’s earlier position on front-of-pack warnings, following criticism from the Supreme Court over the regulator’s handling of the issue
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran had questioned the move away from an earlier approach favouring interpretive front-of-pack labelling. FSSAI had instead proposed displaying daily recommended limits for added sugar, added saturated fat and salt in pictorial form, based on the 2024 ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines
The Court questioned whether numerical information would be readily understood by ordinary consumers and also raised concerns about possible industry pressure. It further questioned the Union government’s position that international standards could not be applied in India
The Bench highlighted the particular vulnerability of children to packaged food products and stressed the importance of protecting citizens’ health. It directed the authorities to formulate appropriate regulations and indicated that a judicial order could follow if adequate action was not taken
With the proposed framework now before the Supreme Court, the front of a food packet could soon become the place where the biggest nutritional warning gets the biggest billing
