Discuss the role of FSSAI in regulating misleading food labelling claims. Examine the balance it must strike between consumer protection and commercial freedom of manufacturers.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), created under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is India's apex food regulator [1]. Since the label is the consumer's main source of nutrition information, policing exaggerated claims is central to its mandate — yet enforcement must remain proportionate to manufacturers' legitimate commercial freedom.

FSSAI's role in regulating misleading labelling claims

• Standard-setting: the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 [2] and FSS (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018 [3] define which nutrition and health claims are permissible on pre-packaged food.
• Prohibiting exaggerated claims: edible-oil labels cannot use terms like "Super-Refined", "Anti-Cholesterol", "Cholesterol Fighter" or "Soothing to Heart" [2].
• Science-based thresholds: a "cholesterol-free" claim is valid only below 2 mg cholesterol per 100 g/ml and 1.5 g saturated fat per 100 ml, declared in the nutrition table [2].
• Enforcement: penalty for misbranded food under Section 52, and up to ₹10 lakh for misleading advertisement under Section 53 [1][3], besides prohibiting manufacture and sale — as in the notice against Fortune Soya Health Refined Soyabean Oil over its "100% Veg" and "Cholesterol Free" declarations [4].

Striking the balance

• For strict regulation: acute information asymmetry, health-driven purchase decisions, and the State's duty under Article 47 to raise nutrition and public health standards.
• For regulatory restraint: Article 19(1)(g) protects trade and commercial speech; curbs must be reasonable under Article 19(6). A claim may be literally accurate yet be read as an implied health claim, so vague standards risk arbitrariness.
• Due process: show-cause notice and hearing must precede a prohibition order; Article 226 judicial review supplies the check, as the Delhi High Court's notice to the Centre and FSSAI illustrates [4].

FSSAI's credibility rests not on the severity of its orders but on their proportionality. Clear positive lists, pre-vetting of novel claims, graded penalties, reasoned speaking orders and consumer nutrition literacy can secure honest labelling while preserving industry confidence — advancing both Article 47 and SDG-3 on good health and well-being.