The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on a plea seeking mandatory front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) for packaged foods high in sugar, salt and fat, while questioning the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over its proposed 365-day voluntary compliance period.

A Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran questioned why the regulator needed a year for voluntary compliance and why the process required a fresh round of stakeholder consultation when the issue had been under consideration since 2022.

“Why voluntary compliance for a year? Why do you need so much time?” Justice Pardiwala asked FSSAI. He also questioned why the regulator wanted to restart the process of inviting objections after several years of deliberation.

Additional Solicitor General Brijender Chahar, appearing for FSSAI, said the earlier process related to a star-rating system based on different criteria. Justice Pardiwala, however, questioned the need for further delay, given the health concerns underlying the proposed labelling regime.

The court said it appreciated the steps taken by FSSAI but indicated that its final directions would have to be implemented strictly.

“Whatever order we now pass will be binding on you,” Justice Pardiwala said, adding that the court expected the regulator to follow the directions “scrupulously” and in their true spirit.

The petitioner’s counsel, advocate Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, raised objections to several aspects of FSSAI’s revised proposal, including its use of added sugar and added fat as parameters, the proposed timeline for mandatory implementation and the treatment of packaged food already in the market.

The petitioner also argued that implementation of warning labels should not be held up until a regulatory definition of ultra-processed foods is finalised, saying the two issues could be dealt with separately.

FSSAI has proposed a single-phase FoPL regime under which packaged foods exceeding prescribed thresholds for any one of the specified nutrients would carry a red hexagonal warning on the front of the pack. The thresholds are proposed to be based on the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, issued by the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition.

The regulator has also proposed a separate warning for products containing non-caloric sweeteners. It has sought 365 days of voluntary compliance after notification of the regulations, besides around four months to prepare and finalise the draft regulations before the prescribed consultation process.

The parties have been directed to file their written submissions within three days, after which the court will pronounce its order. The matter forms part of the court’s continuing proceedings on FoPL, in which it has earlier sought detailed responses from FSSAI on nutrient thresholds, label design, processing categories and the timeline for mandatory implementation.

The petitioner in the case, 3S and Our Health Society, a Kerala-based public charitable organisation, is seeking mandatory front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods high in sugar, salt and fat. The organisation has challenged the existing regulatory approach and sought a warning-label regime that would enable consumers to identify products containing excessive levels of nutrients of concern.