In a significant move aimed at tackling India’s mounting health crisis, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed an expert committee to expedite its recommendations for amending food safety regulations—specifically to mandate front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) on packaged food products, PTI reported.
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by public welfare organisations 3S and Our Health Society. The petition, filed through advocate Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, calls on the Centre and all states and union territories to implement clear, front-facing labels indicating high levels of sugar, salt, and saturated fat in processed foods.
The aim, the petitioners said, is to help consumers make informed dietary choices at a time when India is grappling with a surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular ailments, and certain types of cancer—all of which are increasingly being linked to ultra-processed foods.
The top court took note of the Centre’s and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) submission that an amendment is under consideration. The government has already received around 14,000 public responses on the matter and has set up an expert panel to evaluate the feedback and propose changes to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
“We dispose of this writ petition with the direction to the expert committee to give its recommendations expeditiously within three months,” Justice Pardiwala stated in the order.
The PIL highlighted alarming data: NCDs now account for more than six million deaths each year in India. Diabetes alone has become a national epidemic, affecting nearly one in four Indians. Public health advocates blame the aggressive marketing and easy availability of foods high in sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats.
Mandatory FOPL, experts argue, could be a game-changer—making nutrition information more accessible, especially in a country where literacy levels vary. If adopted, India would join a growing list of nations introducing bold labelling laws to combat lifestyle diseases through better consumer awareness.