'Are You Taking the Court For a Toss?': SC Lambasts FSSAI Over Delay in Introducing Warning Labels on Packaged Food

New Delhi: Taking serious note of the delay in introducing warning labels on packaged food, the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 13) slammed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and underlined the significance of such lables, reported Press Trust of India.

A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran asked the Union government if it “does not want its people to be healthy”.

“We are doing this in public interest. Keep it in mind. We are not doing it for ourselves. Why are you not abiding by our order? We know the pressure on you. Will you do it on your own or should we pass an order?” observed Justice Pardiwala.

The court made the observations while hearing the public interest litigation (PIL) of public charitable trust 3S and Our Health Society which sought directions to the Union government, states and Union territories to implement mandatory front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) on packaged foods.

The court said that FOPL labels are necessary to create awareness, especially among growing children who are becoming addicted to junk food.

“Are you taking the court for a toss?” Justice Pardiwala questioned additional solicitor general Brijender Chahar during the hearing.

The PIL cited India’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases and claimed FOPL would highlight the presence of high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fats, which are key contributors to serious health issues such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.

It also flagged the alarming surge in lifestyle diseases and said that non-communicable diseases were behind more than 6 million deaths annually in the country, with diabetes emerging as a silent epidemic affecting nearly one in four Indians.

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