SC to FSSAI: warnings go on the front
The Supreme Court isn’t buying years of “consultations” on junk-food labels. It told the Union and FSSAI to consider clear front-of-pack warnings and come back with something real — not another meeting note.
The Supreme Court has asked FSSAI to consider clear front-of-pack warnings within four weeks.
The Supreme Court, hearing 3S and Our Health Society v Union of India, said it was not satisfied with FSSAI’s compliance on front-of-package labelling and linked the issue to citizens’ right to health, according to the Court’s February 10, 2026 order. The bench — Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan — asked the authority to consider warnings on the front of pre‑packaged food and report back in four weeks.
FSSAI’s affidavits said it floated a star‑rating draft in 2022, got around 14,000 comments, set up an expert panel in 2023, issued another draft in 2025, and then deferred the matter at a November 2025 Food Authority meeting. The Court’s description was blunter: the exercise “has not yielded any positive or good result.” Internationally, FoPL already exists; India is still workshopping the algorithm.
For Telangana, this is the Union’s lane — food labelling is central regulation. When the BJP‑led Centre drags its feet, states live with the fallout on public health and healthcare costs. The Court has now said the obvious: put warnings where people can see them. The file can stop touring committee rooms.