New Delhi: In a critical observation during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL), the Supreme Court remarked that children are more curious about what’s inside a Kurkure packet than about its actual contents, highlighting the lack of transparent food labelling.

The court questioned why food packets did not visibly carry information about harmful ingredients like sugar, salt, and fats, and stressed that such information should be written in large, clear letters.

The PIL, filed by advocate Rajeev S. Dwivedi on behalf of 3S and Our Health Society, demanded mandatory front-of-pack labelling on all processed food items to disclose levels of saturated fats, sugar, and salt. The petitioner cited alarming health data, including that one in four Indians suffers from diabetes and that non-communicable diseases cause six million deaths annually — many linked to unhealthy packaged food.

Responding to the PIL, the central government informed the court that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had approved certain recommendations in June 2024 and received 14,000 public comments on proposed labelling guidelines. A government-appointed committee is currently reviewing these.

Taking the government's submission on record, the bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan gave the Centre three months to finalise and implement amendments to the 2020 Food Safety Standards, making the new labelling norms mandatory. The court has now disposed of the PIL while directing the government to receive and act on the expert panel's recommendations within the stipulated timeframe.

The decision signals a strong move towards regulating misleading or insufficient food labelling and addressing growing public health concerns linked to the consumption of processed foods, particularly among children.