Front-of-pack warning labels are a low-cost, high-impact tool against the NCD epidemic. Examine why their adoption in India has been delayed and suggest a way forward.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill millions of Indians every year [5]. Packaged foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat are a major cause. Front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) warns buyers about these foods at the moment they choose. Yet India's FoPL exercise, begun in 2022, is still pending. In September 2026 the Supreme Court asked FSSAI what it had done "in the last four years" [1].

Reasons for the delay

• Dispute over the label's design: FSSAI's September 2022 draft proposed an Indian Nutrition Rating of half to five stars, not warnings about specific nutrients [2]. A single overall score can hide one nutrient that is very high, which kept experts and industry divided.
• Repeated consultation: FSSAI now wants four more months to consult. It plans to notify the rules by 1 July 2027 and then allow a 365-day transition. Full compliance would come only around mid-2028 [1].
• Voluntary compliance: The 2022 draft kept the labels voluntary for 48 months after notification [2]. The Court questioned even a one-year voluntary phase [1]. When labels are optional, the least healthy products stay unlabelled the longest.
• Industry cost concerns: FSSAI cites "minimal hardship" to food businesses [1]. Relabelling costs hit small and medium firms (MSMEs) hardest, which gives industry more say over the process.
• Institutional inertia: The FSS Act, 2006 sets no deadline for this rule. Progress has depended on a PIL by 3S and Our Health Society [1].

Way forward

• Label each nutrient: Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay use black "HIGH IN" octagons. Mandatory warning labels have changed what shoppers intend to buy more than "traffic-light" labels have [4].
• Government-led design: WHO says FoPL should be government-led, with input from stakeholders rather than control by them [3]. FSSAI's scientific panels should set the nutrient limits.
• Mandatory, time-bound transition: Replace the voluntary year with a fixed deadline. Give MSMEs phased timelines and technical help.
• Calibrated judicial role: The Court should fix deadlines but leave the label's content to experts, respecting the separation of powers.
• Complementary measures: Link the labels to FSSAI's Eat Right India campaign, limit advertising of HFSS (high fat, sugar, salt) foods to children, and set targets for firms to reduce sugar, salt and fat.

The delay stems less from technical difficulty than from the choice of label design and weak regulatory will. A mandatory warning label for each nutrient, with a firm timeline and support for small firms, would uphold the right to health under Article 21. It would also advance SDG target 3.4 on reducing premature NCD deaths.