Indian health activists lodge concerns about food warning proposal in court — SkimNews
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- 3S And Our Health filed the first formal Supreme Court complaint against the proposal; the case is scheduled for September 10, and Reuters reviewed the nonpublic filing.
- India proposed a red hexagonal label only when a product exceeds limits for at least two of added sugar, salt and saturated fat.
- Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi argued that the proposal creates an "industry-friendly loophole for unconscionable profit" and that sugar alone can pose a diabetes risk.
- An Indian government source said per-nutrient warning labels will be introduced in a second phase, but no dates for either phase have been decided.
- Industry groups said a substantial majority of packaged products could receive warning labels and affect demand, although they have not yet challenged the measure in court.
- Chile's 2016 food labelling law required separate black octagons for each high nutrient, after which researchers cited a 23.7% decline in sugary-drink purchases.
Why it matters: The dispute puts a concrete public-health test before the Supreme Court on September 10: under the first phase, a product high only in added sugar would avoid a red label despite being a diabetes risk. The government promises per-nutrient warnings in phase two, but has set no timeline.
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