Food giants oppose red warning labels for high salt, sugar and fat, cite non-veg confusion

NEW DELHI: India should reconsider the red colour of its proposed warning labels on packaged foods as it can confuse consumers who associate the colour with non-vegetarian ingredient markings, food companies in India have told the Supreme Court.

India's food regulator has proposed a red hexagon warning label system to mark high salt, sugar or fat in packaged items, despite the industry's multi-year campaign to oppose the labels.

"The average Indian consumer is habituated to associating the colour red with the mandatory non-vegetarian identification mark," the All India Food Processors Association said in a court filing dated September 24, which was reviewed by Reuters.


The Supreme Court is set to review the government's proposal on Monday.