The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for delaying the implementation of mandatory front of pack warning labels on processed food, stressing that public health must take precedence over the interests of multinational companies. The court said clear and prominent labelling was essential to help consumers understand the sugar, salt, saturated fat and calorie content of packaged food.

A bench comprising J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan expressed dissatisfaction with the response submitted by the food regulator, which sought more time for further research. The judges warned that the court would step in if authorities failed to act within a reasonable timeframe.

Court Questions Delay By Regulator

During the hearing, the bench told the Centre and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India that their primary concern should be the right to health of Indian citizens. “You should not be concerned about multinational companies but about the right to health of citizens of the country,” the court observed, while granting three weeks for the authorities to complete their research.

The matter came up while hearing a public interest litigation seeking directions to make Front of Package Warning Labels mandatory for processed foods. The petitioners argued that the absence of clear front facing warnings prevented consumers from making informed choices and contributed to rising lifestyle related diseases.

Background Of The Case

The Supreme Court had in April last year directed an expert committee appointed by the Centre to prepare recommendations on changes to labelling rules for packaged foods. The Union government informed the court that the FSSAI had received around 14,000 public comments on the proposed amendments, following which it decided to revise the regulations.

However, the bench noted that the matter had been pending for years and questioned the need for further delays. The judges indicated that prolonged inaction could compel judicial intervention to protect public interest.

Earlier Proposal And Public Health Concerns

FSSAI had first approved a proposal in 2014 to mandate prominent display of nutritional information such as total sugar, salt and saturated fat on packaged food labels. At the time, the government had said the move would empower consumers to make healthier choices and help address the growing burden of non communicable diseases in the country.

Health experts have consistently argued that front of pack warning labels are among the most effective tools to alert consumers about unhealthy food content, especially in a market flooded with ultra processed products.

What Lies Ahead

With the Supreme Court setting a fresh deadline, the Centre and the food regulator are now under pressure to finalise and implement the warning label framework. The court made it clear that the delay cannot be indefinite, signalling a tougher stance on issues linked to public health.

The matter will be taken up again after three weeks, when the court is expected to review the progress made by the authorities on implementing the long pending labelling norms.

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