Madras High Court Rejects FSSAI Review Plea on Microplastics Warning Labels

The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a review petition filed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) against its earlier direction requiring packaged drinking water, sugar and salt to carry a warning about possible micro and nano plastic content.

A special Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy declined to revisit the February 6, 2026 order, which mandated that PET bottles used for drinking water and plastic packs of sugar and salt display the warning in bold red letters: "This water/sugar/salt may contain micro/nano plastics."

The Bench observed that it had never held that these products become unsafe on account of plastic packaging. The direction, it noted, was limited to placing a warning on labels so that consumers could make an informed decision before consumption.

In its review application, FSSAI argued that scientific research on the health effects of micro and nano plastics remains inconclusive and at a nascent stage. The authority contended that requiring such a forewarning could trigger public panic and disrupt the supply chain. It also said the report relied on by the court was a review of scholarly papers on micro/nano plastics as an emerging contaminant, and that this review does not conclusively establish harm to the human body.

FSSAI maintained that while some studies suggest possible health impacts from exposure to microplastics and nano plastics, the overall scientific evidence does not show that the levels found in food pose a risk to human health. It further submitted that no country has so far framed regulations on micro and nano plastics, that such labelling would be impractical and burdensome for Food Business Operators, and that it could cause alarm among foreign visitors encountering the warnings on Indian food products.

The authority also pointed to the National Green Tribunal's cognisance of a 2022 newspaper article on detecting microplastics in human blood, following which the tribunal directed the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct further studies. FSSAI said it had written to ICMR twice seeking such research and had received no response, and offered to fund the ICMR study as well as one to be conducted by IIT-Madras at the Tamil Nadu government's request.

The review plea was accompanied by an application seeking condonation of a 151-day delay in filing it. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and FSSAI had initially challenged the High Court's direction in the Supreme Court, but the special leave petition was dismissed as withdrawn on May 18, 2026, leading to the present review.

Separately, the PET Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE) had sought recall of the February order on similar grounds, while the Federation of All India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers Association filed an impleading petition complaining that the order was passed without giving it an opportunity to be heard.