Activists Challenge India's Two-Nutrient Food Warning Rule in Supreme Court
A coalition of health NGOs has filed the first court objection to India's draft rule that would place red warning labels only on products high in at least two of three nutrients.
Health activists, led by the nonprofit 3S And Our Health, have lodged the first formal legal challenge to India's proposed front-of-pack warning label system. Their complaint contends that requiring a red hexagonal label only when two of three nutrients—added sugar, salt or saturated fat—exceed set limits leaves a loophole that benefits manufacturers, as products high in just one of those nutrients would not be flagged.
The Supreme Court will consider the petition on September 10, alongside arguments from the government and the packaged-food industry. Officials say the scheme will be rolled out in phases, with a later stage introducing separate warnings for each nutrient. Industry representatives fear that a large share of packaged items could receive warnings, which could dampen consumer demand. The debate follows earlier reports that the government softened the proposal after lobbying from companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and PepsiCo.
