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India’s food regulator has proposed front-of-pack warning labels on packaged food and drinks, reversing its position following growing public anger about a lack of strict labels that highlighted high sugar, fat or salt in items.
The move is a major setback for food companies in India’s over $100 billion market where Coca-Cola and industry groups representing Nestle and PepsiCo have long opposed such labels, saying they are confusing. Activists and the Supreme Court have long called for them, citing problems like obesity. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has proposed a red-coloured hexagonal shape for food products which are high in any two or more nutrients – fat, sugar or salt – it said in a Supreme Court filing, seen by Reuters.
“The warning label shall indicate the applicable declaration, such as ‘HIGH FAT’, ‘HIGH SUGAR’, ‘HIGH SALT’ and/or ‘HIGHLY SWEETENED BEVERAGE’ … to enable consumers to readily identify products high in the specified nutrients,” FSSAI said in the filing on Friday.
The mechanism will “facilitate informed food choices, particularly in relation to children and other vulnerable groups of the population,” it added.
Reuters is first to report the court filing, which has not been made public. The submission was made in the Supreme Court as it was hearing challenges from health activists calling for long-delayed warning labels, and had told the government earlier this month to act fast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has for years tried to implement some form of warning labels, but dropped a proposal this year after companies privately opposed the measures, Reuters reported this week.
Since the story was published, consumers and health experts in India have expressed their anger on social media, as companies like Coca-Cola and Nestle have voluntarily put similar labels in many European markets for years.
“We are considering the government proposal and our experts are going to review it,” said Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, the lead counsel for non-profit “3S And Our Health” which had challenged the government in the Supreme Court for lack of warning labels.
