The Supreme Court has asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to provide detailed answers on its proposed Front-of-Pack Labelling (FoPL) system for packaged foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, while hearing 3S And Our Health Society v. Union of India & Anr., noted that although FSSAI had made “significant progress”, several important aspects of the proposed warning-label system remained unclear.
Background of the Case
The matter concerns the introduction of prominent warnings on packaged food products containing high levels of nutrients of concern. FSSAI has proposed a red hexagonal warning label carrying declarations such as “HIGH FAT”, “HIGH SUGAR”, “HIGH SALT” and “HIGHLY SWEETENED BEVERAGE”.
Under the proposal, the first phase would cover products high in two or more specified nutrients, along with specified sweetened beverages. A second phase would cover products exceeding the threshold for any one of the specified nutrients.
The Court, however, questioned the scientific basis for dividing the two phases in this manner and also raised concern over the absence of a fixed timeline for moving from Phase I to Phase II.
Court's Observations
The Bench examined several aspects of the proposed system, including nutrient thresholds, the size and placement of the red hexagon, font size, use of pictorial symbols and whether separate warnings should be used for fat, sugar and salt.
The Court also referred to an earlier stakeholder consultation in which consensus had reportedly emerged around using total sugar and saturated fat for front-of-pack information, and asked FSSAI to explain whether its position had since changed.
The Bench observed:
“We would like the FSSAI to take the aforesaid into account and revisit their conception of the FoPL as it stands presently.”
The Court further raised the issue of nutritional literacy among schoolchildren and sought a response from the Union on incorporating understanding of food labels and nutrition through school curricula, initiatives and workshops.
Decision
The Supreme Court directed FSSAI to file an affidavit answering 13 specific questions, covering the timeline for the two phases, nutrient thresholds, sweetened beverages, label dimensions and placement, pictorial representations, colour, artificial additives, mandatory compliance and nutritional literacy in schools.
FSSAI was given 10 days to file its response, after which it must be shared with the petitioner for a reply.
The matter has been posted for September 28, 2026.
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