India court orders regulator to provide timeline for food warning labels

India's Supreme Court has mandated the federal government to provide a timeline for the implementation of food warning labels on packaged products within 10 days, intensifying pressure on New Delhi to enforce this public health measure. The Supreme Court's decision was prompted by complaints from a health nonprofit and an ongoing crackdown on food safety, which has led to regulatory raids across the country.

The food regulator previously proposed a two-phase labeling program, beginning with red-colored hexagonal warning labels on products exceeding limits in at least two of three categories — added sugar, salt, or saturated fat. A more stringent set of rules would follow in the second phase, according to the regulator. However, the Supreme Court expressed concern that the absence of a specific timeline might lead to the postponement or indefinite delay of Phase II implementation.

The court emphasized that factors like assessing consumer acceptability or providing the industry time for reformulation should not be reasons for uncertainty in the implementation timeline. The government's Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has acknowledged the order but expressed willingness to implement both phases simultaneously.

The debate on food safety in India has gained momentum following Reuters' report last month, which revealed that the Indian government had opted for a weaker labeling regime following lobbying efforts by multinational corporations like Coca-Cola, Nestle, and PepsiCo, who argued that warning labels were ineffective. Despite these concerns, numerous companies have voluntarily implemented warning labels in European markets.

Industry stakeholders in India, however, have opposed the labeling initiative, citing confusion and ineffectiveness as primary issues.