The Supreme Court, hearing a long-pending public interest litigation over mandatory front-of-pack warning labelling for packaged food, has pressed the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for detailed clarity on their proposed framework, in an order dated 10 September 2026 reported as 3S and Our Health Society v. Union of India.
FSSAI's proposed framework centres on a red hexagonal warning label bearing declarations such as "HIGH FAT", "HIGH SUGAR" or "HIGH SALT" for products crossing nutrient-of-concern thresholds set out in the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, to be rolled out in two phases — Phase I covering products high in two or more of the specified nutrients along with specified sweetened beverages, and Phase II extending the warning to products high in any single specified nutrient. While acknowledging that FSSAI had made progress in submitting this proposal, the Bench posed a set of thirteen targeted questions on the framework, touching on implementation timelines, the precise nutrient-of-concern thresholds, consumer comprehension of the red hexagon design, and packaging design considerations, including a flagged concern over the label's colour clashing with the mandatory green/brown dot used to indicate vegetarian or non-vegetarian status.
Among the specific issues raised, the Court questioned whether ultra-processed foods should be assessed for labelling purposes in the same manner as other packaged foods, and asked FSSAI to clarify whether it intends to distinguish between moderately processed foods without additives and more heavily processed foods containing additives when fixing its nutrient thresholds. The Centre and FSSAI were directed to file affidavits responding to the Court's queries within ten days, with the matter posted for further hearing on 28 September 2026.