The Supreme Court has given the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) expert committee a final three more months to submit recommendations on mandatory warning labels on the front of packaged food items.
The committee had sought a further extension as the three months granted by the court on April 9 to submit recommendations ended on July 9. FSSAI said the committee needed time for pan-India consultations. The ‘front-of-pack labeling’ (FoPL) will indicate items high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats — ingredients closely linked to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and heart ailments, reports in the legal press said.
Grating time, a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said, “We grant further time of three months for one last time, failing which we will take appropriate steps as per law,” the bench warned, making it clear that further delays would not be tolerated.
A PIL filed by non-profits 3S and Our Health Society had highlighted the need for warning labels to indicate levels of sugars, salt, and saturated fat in packaged foods.
In an affidavit, FSSAI said it notified a draft of the proposed amendment to FSS (Labeling and Display) Regulations, 2020 on 13 September 2022 in order to to implement front-of-pack nutrition labeling (FOPNL) requirements, and made it available to for public objections and suggestions.
More than 14,000 comments were received from stakeholders, food businesses, consumers, consumer organizations, etc., after which FSSAI constituted an expert committee to prepare a report.
FSSAI said in its latest application that in its 46th meeting on March 7 this year, the expert committee was asked to conduct “wider and frequent consultations” with the lowest level in the food chain. The authority said the consultations should involve ground level participation, including MSMEs, and should not be restricted only to large industry association.
The court said, “It is alright as long as they are looking into the matter. We will grant three months as a last opportunity. If they fail to abide by the order, we will proceed in contempt.”
