In a long-running public interest litigation seeking mandatory front-of-pack warning labelling for foods high in sugar, fat and sodium, the Supreme Court has continued to press FSSAI and the Union government for clarity on the actual rollout plan, questioning FSSAI's proposed phased, multi-nutrient-first approach to interpretive 'red hexagon' warning labels.
FSSAI's own affidavit had proposed a two-phase rollout — Phase 1 covering products high in two or more nutrients of concern plus specified sweetened beverages, and Phase 2 extending coverage to products high in any single nutrient of concern. The Court questioned this staged approach and specifically asked how ultra-processed foods would be treated relative to other packaged foods, directing the Centre and FSSAI to file further affidavits addressing these gaps.
The continued judicial supervision signals that the scope and timeline of India's mandatory front-of-pack warning label regime remains genuinely in flux, notwithstanding FSSAI's own proposed phasing — packaged food manufacturers should treat the regime as imminent and near-certain, but should not finalise packaging redesigns against FSSAI's currently proposed phased structure without confirming it survives the Court's ongoing scrutiny.