Supreme Court presses government on delays over food warning labels

The Supreme Court on Monday pressed the government on why it intended to spend more time on fresh public and industry consultations before adopting warning labels for packaged foods, as it reviewed the proposed labelling regime.

During the hearing, Justice J. B. Pardiwala asked why so much time was being devoted to the process when health concerns were at stake, and said the authority was expected to accept the court's order. The court indicated it would issue a final order on the matter soon.

The review followed a plea by activists who argued that New Delhi had not adopted stricter front-of-pack labelling rules despite years of deliberation and public consultation. The regulator recently said that notifying the stricter warning labels and completing public consultation would take four months, with another year needed for implementation. The court questioned the need for a fresh consultation and asked what had been done over the past four years.

The labelling effort is part of a broader food safety crackdown in which eateries have been raided and scores of restaurants and factories shut for hygiene lapses. The proposed rules would require red hexagon-shaped labels on packaged items high in salt, sugar or fat. The government has also flagged obesity concerns, particularly among children. A study in the British medical journal the Lancet projected that India's 180 million overweight or obese adults in 2021 could rise to 450 million by 2050.

Ahead of the hearing, the All India Food Processors Association, which represents dozens of Indian and foreign food companies, told the court that the colour and symbol used for warnings required careful consideration in the Indian context. The group said the average Indian consumer associates the colour red with the mandatory non-vegetarian identification mark, and warned that another prominent red warning symbol could create confusion.

The association did not oppose front-of-pack warnings but objected to what it called the indiscriminate application of the proposed thresholds, calling for them to be decided scientifically. India backs a red warning if added sugar exceeds 3% of solid products by weight and fat exceeds 4.2%, norms stricter than many foreign markets. The industry also repeated its concern that warnings should be based on a single serving rather than the proposed 100 gm reference, noting that Indian foods are eaten in widely varying quantities, such as about 10 gm of pickle, 15 to 20 gm of condiments or 30 gm of bread.

India is a major growth market for global consumer giants and also hosts thousands of small domestic sellers of traditional savouries and sweets.