Now Reading: Supreme Court gives Centre two weeks on food warning labels
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Supreme Court gives Centre two weeks on food warning labels
The Supreme Court has given the Centre two weeks to decide the visual format of front-of-package warning labels on packaged food. Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran questioned the delay and…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court has given the Centre two weeks to decide the visual format of front-of-package warning labels on packaged food. Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran questioned the delay and rejected the Union government’s claim that matching international packaging standards would be difficult.
The bench said clear labels could help consumers, especially children, understand levels of sugar, salt and saturated fats. It also criticised the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, noting that obesity is recognised as a public health challenge. The court asked the Centre to consider coloured indicators, words, numbers, letters or symbols, and will hear the matter again on September 10.
The Indian Opinion
The loudest versions of this dispute portray the court as attacking packaged food or the government as indifferent to children’s health. Neither is supported by this hearing. A label can inform, but it cannot replace affordable nutritious food, school awareness or sensible enforcement. The useful test is whether the final design is clear enough for a shopper to compare sugar, salt and fat within seconds, and whether the Centre publishes that design within the two-week deadline.
Source: indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
