Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 24: FSSAI wants sugar, fat and salt warnings on the front of packaged foods. Industry would get a one-year transition to comply. The single-phase plan still awaits final notification.
India’s packaged foods may soon display their nutritional risks far more visibly. FSSAI has proposed a single-phase rollout of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling, (FoPL). Products exceeding thresholds for added sugar, added fat or salt would carry warnings. Specified sweetened beverages would also be covered.
For the food industry, the change means redesigned packs and new compliance processes.
Red Hexagon Food Warning Label Moves Up Front
The proposed food warning label has three parts. A red hexagon sits inside a white square-shaped background. The name of the relevant nutrient appears within it.
The label would sit prominently on the top-left of the pack’s front. Its text would be at least one point larger than the back-of-pack nutrition table. Its size would broadly follow Canada’s model, which the design resembles.
One Hexagon Can Cover Several Nutrients
FSSAI has rejected separate pictograms for each nutrient. It said multiple symbols could confuse consumers or be read differently. Instead, several exceeded nutrients would share a single hexagon.
A product breaching just one threshold would still carry a warning. The warning applies regardless of how processed the product is. It is a disclosure measure, not a product ban.
Sugar, Fat and Salt Thresholds Set Coverage
Thresholds would rest on ICMR-NIN recommendations, measured per 100 grams or millilitres. For foods, added sugar is capped at 5% of energy. Total sugar must not exceed 10% of energy. Added fat is set at 15%, with total fat not exceeding 30%.
Beverages allow 10% of energy from added sugar and up to 30% from total sugar. Chips, for example, would be flagged above 4.2 grams of added fat per 100 grams. The salt trigger for chips is 625 milligrams per 100 grams.
FSSAI also separates added sugars, like table sugar or syrup, from natural ones.
Industry Gets a One-Year Transition
Food business operators would get one year to comply after notification. FSSAI said the window avoids commercial hardship from packaging already printed in bulk.
The regulator separately expects about four months to finalise the draft rules. These are two distinct timelines.
FSSAI decided at its 48th meeting that labelling amendments take effect on July 1. A minimum 365-day transition from notification applies. The approach also reflects NITI Aayog committee advice on compliance timelines.
Sweeteners and Beverages Get Separate Attention
FSSAI is also weighing a “CONTAINS NON CALORIC SWEETENER” warning on pack fronts. That disclosure currently appears on the back.
A separate category is proposed for beverages exceeding sugar and salt thresholds. It aims to make consumers aware of sugar-sweetened drinks.
Supreme Court Seeks a Clear Timeline
The proposals came in a compliance affidavit to the Supreme Court. On September 10, the court sought a scientifically justified, clearly defined timeline. It also described food safety as a matter of national interest.
For consumers, the plan would make nutrient warnings far harder to miss. For industry, it signals a redesign of packaging across many categories. Final rules, however, still await notification. Until then, the red hexagon remains a proposal.
