The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed prominent red warning labels on the front of packaged food products high in added fat, sugar and salt, telling the Supreme Court that the measure will help consumers make informed food choices.
In a compliance affidavit filed before the apex court, the food regulator said the proposed labels will use a red-coloured hexagonal shape to clearly identify products high in two or more specified nutrients of concern.
“It is proposed to provide a prominent front-of-pack warning label in a red-coloured hexagonal shape for food products which are high in any two or more of the following nutrients of concern, namely added saturated fat, added sugar and salt, based on the thresholds specified under the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 issued by ICMR-NIN,” the affidavit said.
The warning label will carry declarations such as “High Fat”, “High Sugar”, “High Salt” and/or “Highly Sweetened Beverage”, depending on the product, allowing consumers to quickly identify foods high in the specified nutrients.
The affidavit was filed in compliance with the Supreme Court’s August 13 order in a plea filed by public charitable trust ‘3S and Our Health Society’, which has sought directions to the Centre, states and Union territories to make front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) mandatory on packaged foods.
The petitioner is represented by advocate Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi.
During the August 13 hearing, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran criticised the delay in introducing warning labels on packaged foods and asked whether the government “does not want its people to be healthy”.
The FSSAI said it has prepared a proposal to provide information on added sugar, added fat and salt in pictorial form on the front of food packages.
“The warning shall be displayed in a font size one point larger than that used in the nutrition information table on the back of the pack,” it said.
Under the proposal, single-ingredient food products and products inherently rich in fat, sugar or salt, including ghee, edible oil, salt, sugar, jaggery and honey, will be exempt from the front-of-pack warning requirement, subject to other applicable food safety and labelling regulations.
The FSSAI has proposed a phased rollout of front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FoPNL) to facilitate consumer acceptance and give the food industry adequate time for product reformulation.
Phase I will cover products high in two or more specified nutrients – added fat, added sugar and salt – along with specified sweetened beverages. Phase II will extend the warning requirement to products high in any one of these nutrients.
“The proposed approach is intended to address the need for an effective and consumer friendly FoP labelling mechanism and to facilitate informed food-choices, particularly in relation to children and other vulnerable group of the population,” the affidavit said.
Under the proposed framework, a food product will be classified as high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS) if it contains high levels of any two or more of the specified nutrients – added fat, added sugar and salt – based on thresholds prescribed in the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by ICMR-NIN.
The information will be displayed in a ‘red hexagon’ on the front of the package in the prescribed format.
“It is pertinent to mention that the same will be notified by way of an amendment in the respective regulations by following prescribed procedure,” it said.