SC direction on labelling could deal a blow to packaged foods firms

The Supreme Court directive that packaged foods companies must display vital information about product ingredients on packs has dealt a blow to the companies that have been resisting front-of-the-pack labelling regulations for a decade.

While food industry executives said this requirement will add to their woes when they are facing a slowdown, nutrition experts and activists said this has been a long-pending demand and must be enforced at the earliest by the government.

“Quicker implementation of front-of-pack labels will hasten the much-needed changes in consumer preferences to healthier choices,” said Arun Gupta, convenor of the National Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi), a national think-tank on nutrition. “We are hopeful that companies’ delay tactics will come to an end now,” Gupta said.

Hearing a public interest litigation seeking to make front-of-the-pack warning compulsory, Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on Wednesday asked the government to ensure that companies have this information displayed on product packs within three months.

"You all have grandchildren? Let the order on the petition come. You will know what Kurkure and Maggi are and how their wrappers should be. The packets have no information,” Justice Pardiwala observed during the hearing.

A spokesperson for Nestle India, which makes Maggi noodles and KitKat chocolates, said: “Like other food industries, we too are sharing our inputs with FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). Whenever the new regulations come into effect, we will comply with it.” All Maggi packs clearly mention all ingredients and nutritional information on its packs, the spokesperson added.

PepsiCo, which owns the Kurkure snack brand, did not respond to a request for comment. Emails seeking comments sent to the FSSAI, Britannia, ITC and Haldiram Snacks Food also remained unanswered at press time Thursday.

Many packaged foods that look “healthy” are actually full of hidden sugars, salts, and fats, said Consumer Voice, a health advocacy and advisory body to the government. “Without clear, easy-to-understand front-of-pack labelling, we’re left guessing what’s really inside. The SC has now given the FSSAI until July 2025 to get their rules finalised," it wrote in a post on microblogging platform X Thursday.

“This (requirement) would be a double whammy during a slowdown, especially in urban markets, if it is passed as a final judgement," the chief executive of a large packaged foods company said on the condition of anonymity.

Packaging costs too will increase since the information can’t be stickered on existing packs,” said the chief of another large foods company, also asking not to be named.

The Supreme Court bench said the government should decide on amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 within three months to make display of the information on packs mandatory.

The development comes close to a year after the FSSAI approved a proposal to display nutritional information, including total sugar, salt and saturated fat in bold letters and prominent font size on labels of packaged food items, to dissuade consumers from buying unhealthy foods as well as make companies reduce unhealthy ingredients in foods. The draft notification had been put in public domain for suggestions and objections.

Previously, the FSSAI had considered a proposal to introduce mandatory Health Star Rating on packaged foods to rate the nutritional profiles. But amid widespread pushback, the regulator did not go ahead with the proposal.

Food companies have been under increasing scrutiny from their own boards as well as health activists to reduce salt, sugar and fat in their products.

ITC, Nestle, Britannia, Parle Products and Danone are among the companies which have included nutrition strategies as key result areas of their leadership teams.