New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed prominent red warning labels on the front of packaged food products that are high in specified levels of added fat, sugar and salt, according to an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court.

Under the proposal, a red-coloured hexagonal warning label would be placed on products that contain high levels of any two or more of the specified nutrients of concern, based on thresholds outlined in the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by ICMR-NIN.

“It is proposed to provide a prominent front-of-pack warning label in a red-coloured hexagonal shape for food products which are high in any two or more of the following nutrients of concern, namely added saturated fat, added sugar and salt, based on the thresholds specified under the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024 issued by ICMR-NIN,” the affidavit said.

The proposed label would carry declarations such as “High Fat”, “High Sugar”, “High Salt” and/or “Highly Sweetened Beverage”, depending on the product, allowing consumers to identify products high in the specified nutrients at a glance.

The affidavit was submitted in compliance with an August 13 order of the Supreme Court while it was hearing a petition filed by public charitable trust 3S and Our Health Society. The petitioner has sought mandatory front-of-package warning labels on packaged food products across the country.

During the August 13 hearing, a bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran had questioned the delay in introducing such warning labels and asked whether the government “does not want its people to be healthy”.

The FSSAI said it has prepared a proposal to display information on added sugar, added fat and salt in pictorial form on the front of food packages.

“The warning shall be displayed in a font size one point larger than that used in the nutrition information table on the back of the pack,” it said.

The proposed rules would exempt single-ingredient food products as well as products inherently high in fat, sugar or salt, including ghee, edible oil, salt, sugar, jaggery and honey, subject to other applicable food safety and labelling requirements.

The front-of-pack nutrition labelling system is proposed to be introduced in phases, giving consumers time to adapt while allowing food manufacturers adequate time for product reformulation.

In the first phase, the warning would apply to products high in two or more of the specified nutrients — added fat, added sugar and salt — as well as specified sweetened beverages. The second phase would extend the requirement to products high in any one of these nutrients.

“The proposed approach is intended to address the need for an effective and consumer friendly FoP labelling mechanism and to facilitate informed food-choices, particularly in relation to children and other vulnerable group of the population,” the affidavit said.

For the proposed regulation, a product would be classified as high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS) when it crosses the relevant nutrient thresholds set under the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by ICMR-NIN.

The FSSAI said the relevant information would be displayed inside a red hexagon on the front of the package in the prescribed format.

“It is pertinent to mention that the same will be notified by way of an amendment in the respective regulations by following prescribed procedure,” it said.