Hyderabad: A Hyderabad-based NGO has filed a petition against the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for allegedly interfering with food warning labels.
Despite the Supreme Court declining FSSAI’s proposed timeline for implementing front-of-pack nutrition warning labels (FoPNL), the regulator, in its fresh submission on October 1, maintained that the system should roll out from July 1, after a minimum 1-year transition period from the date of notification, citing recommendations of a high-level NITI Aayog committee.
The authority had earlier sought four months to formulate and notify the FoPNL regulations, followed by a one-year voluntary compliance period for food businesses.
However, this, according to the NGO, would push effective implementation of mandatory warnings on packaged foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) to July 1, 2028.
The apex court questioned the FSSAI on the one-year compliance period and the time requested to complete the process.
The NGO ‘3S and Our Health Society’ filed a submission through its advocate Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, challenging the 365-day period, stating that it reflected a delay in implementing the FoPNL warning-label system.
The NGO highlighted that the process had been underway since September 2022 and that the FSSAI received a received over 14,000 public comments and obtained an expert committee report in 2023; however, it later cited a lack of consensus and sought extensive research.
The petitioner contended that the delays were driven largely by commercial concerns, including companies’ existing packaging stocks.
It argued that mandatory warnings could be introduced within a month by allowing companies to use stickers on existing packaging.
The petitioner also urged FSSAI to go a step further and define ultra-processed foods (UPF) in the regulatory framework and design a separate proposal on front-of-pack warnings for such foods before the court.
