New Delhi, April 10, 2025 – The Supreme Court has given the Centre a firm three-month deadline to roll out tougher food safety norms, demanding clear nutritional info on packaged food wrappers by July’s end. Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Wednesday, Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan slammed the opacity of current labels, with Pardiwala quipping, “You all have grandchildren? Wait for the order—you’ll see what Kurkure and Maggi really are.”
The bench ordered revisions to the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, pushing for bold, front-of-pack details on sugar, salt, and saturated fat—plus their daily intake percentages. “Packets have no info,” Pardiwala said, per Times of India, echoing a growing call for transparency as India’s packaged food market booms. The PIL, filed amid rising health concerns, spotlighted junk food’s murky stats—think 2.7 grams of sugar per Cerelac serving (NDTV, April 2024).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) told the court it’s on it—14,000 public comments are in, and draft rules from June 2024 are being fine-tuned. “We’re aligning with global norms,” an FSSAI counsel said, per The Indian Express. The goal? Empower consumers to dodge diet traps—obesity’s up 20% in kids since 2015 (WHO). But the clock’s ticking—July 9 is D-day.
Industry’s jittery—big players like Nestle face heat after sugar scandals. On X, users cheer, “Finally, truth on the pack!”—though some fret over higher costs. The Centre’s affidavit promises compliance, but will it deliver? FSSAI’s past lags—like spotty audits (CAG, 2023)—raise doubts. For now, it’s a win for the little guy, but the real test is execution. Can India’s food labels catch up to its health crisis?
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