The Supreme Court grants FSSAI a final 3-month extension to finalize Front-of-Pack Warning Labels (FOPL) under India’s nutrition labelling rules. Learn how this move impacts food safety, consumer health, and the upcoming Indian Nutrition Rating system.
July 2025: The Supreme Court has given the expert committee of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) an additional three months to submit its recommendations on the proposed mandatory warning labels on the front of packaged food goods. Earlier this year, in April, the Supreme Court granted the committee a 90-day extension to make recommendations on the FSSAI’s proposed revisions to packaged foods, which would require warning labels to inform buyers about the amounts of sugar, salt, and fat.
On the Centre’s insistence, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan granted an additional three months on July 15, indicating that it would be the committee’s final opportunity.
“This is an application at the instance of the Union of India praying for extension of time by a further three months to enable the Expert Committee to prepare its Report as directed by this Court…We grant further time of three months for one last time, failing which we shall proceed to take appropriate steps in accordance with law,” the court order of July 15 stated.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Brijender Chahar, appearing for FSSAI, told the court that time is sought to enable the committee to submit its recommendations after holding consultations with all stakeholders.
The directive was issued in response to a public interest lawsuit petition submitted by 3S and Our Health Society, which highlighted the critical need for clear and accurate interpretive labels that identify the sugar, salt, and saturated fat content in packaged foods. The petition contended that such labeling would enable customers to make more informed dietary choices, help lower the prevalence of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and address public health issues related to obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
According to the FSSAI’s affidavit, the Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL) framework includes the introduction of an Indian Nutrition Rating (INR) system. This system will assign star ratings (0.5 to 5 stars) to reflect the overall nutritional value of food items — a strategy to simplify nutritional content and promote healthier eating habits across India.
The affidavit stated that to implement the Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL) requirements, a draft of the proposed amendment to the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, was notified on September 13 2022 and made available to the public for objections/suggestions. Following the notification, over 14,000 comments were received from public stakeholders, including food businesses, consumers, and consumer organisations.
To analyse the public feedback, the FSSAI constituted an expert committee on February 17 2023. In its fifth meeting, the expert committee prepared a report containing its recommendations. The Report of the expert committee and the amended final draft notification of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Amendment Regulations, 2022, were to be submitted to the Scientific Committee for recommendation and approval.
The food safety regulator stated that in May, the expert committee held several meetings with various stakeholders who were likely to be affected by the proposed changes to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
The April 9 order of the top court came after it was informed that over 14,000 public comments had been received on the proposed labelling norms, which required examination by the expert committee. The court then granted the panel three months to submit its recommendations.
The latest application stated that, based on FSSAI’s decision taken in its 46th meeting held on March 7 this year, the expert committee was instructed to conduct “wider and frequent consultations” with the lowest level of personnel affected in the food chain. The authority specifically stated that the consultations should involve ground-level participation, including MSMEs, and should not be restricted to large industry associations such as CII and FICCI.
It stated that the committee conducted consultations with Food Business Operators (FBOs) and other stakeholders across four regions — Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, and Kolkata — in May, with the final meeting held on May 30. The FSSAI also invited food business associations, dairy cooperatives, consumer organisations, self-help groups, women organisations, and relevant departments of the Union government in these discussions.
According to FSSAI’s affidavit, the proposed amendment aims to introduce an Indian Nutrition Rating (INR) for FOPNL. This format employs a star-rating system (ranging from 0.5 to 5 stars) that presents simplified nutrition information on the front of pre-packaged food items, providing information on the overall nutritional value of the food and/or the nutrients included in the FOPNL. Under the INR system, a higher star rating indicates a healthier product. The design aims to simplify the complex nutritional content of packaged foods, enabling consumers to assess products and make healthier dietary decisions quickly.
The court will take up the matter again after the committee submits its detailed Report with a final recommendation.
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