The Supreme Court’s decision to require nutritional labeling on packaged foods was applauded by health experts on Friday. A three-month deadline was set by a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan this week, directing the Center to finalize and implement amended food labeling standards that require clear nutritional information on packaged foods.
Each family used to make their own meals and had complete control over the ingredients in the distant past. Nowadays, though, a large amount of the food that any family eats is prepared by others. This implies that when the consumer buys these foods outside, they have less control over what they eat. Therefore, it is essential that the food manufacturer list every ingredient on the label, according to Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Convener of the Kerala State IMA’s Research Cell.
A proposal to boldly and larger show nutritional information about total sugar, salt, and saturated fat on packaged food items was authorized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in July 2024. According to the suggestion, the amounts of saturated fat, salt, and total sugar should be displayed “in bold letters and relatively increased font size” on food packaging. After receiving more than 14,000 public comments on the proposed labeling standards, the Center has guaranteed that the FSSAI has already started the process of amending the regulations.
