DistantNews
Support us
🇸🇬 Singapore /Health & Science

Indian health activists challenge food warning proposal as an “industry-friendly loophole”

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Indian nonprofit 3S And Our Health has challenged the government’s proposed food-labeling rules in the Supreme Court, calling the plan an industry-friendly loophole.
  • The proposal would require a red warning only when a product exceeds limits for at least two of three nutrients: added sugar, salt or saturated fat.
  • The government says activists’ concerns are unfounded and that it may require warnings for each nutrient in a later phase.

India’s proposed food warning system has drawn its first formal court challenge, with health activists arguing that the plan would allow products high in only one harmful nutrient to escape a red label.

Nonprofit group 3S And Our Health told the Supreme Court that the proposal creates an “industry-friendly loophole for unconscionable profit” and could exempt many harmful products. The complaint is due to be heard on September 10 in proceedings involving activists, industry groups and the government.

Under the proposal, a red hexagonal warning would appear only when a product exceeds limits for at least two of three nutrients: added sugar, salt or saturated fat. “A product that is high in sugar alone remains a diabetes risk,” said Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, a lawyer representing the group.

industry-friendly loophole for unconscionable profit

· 3S And Our HealthThe nonprofit used the phrase in its Supreme Court complaint against the proposed labeling rules.

The plan has unsettled India’s packaged food and drink industry, valued at more than $100 billion, which has long opposed such measures. Some industry groups say a large majority of packaged products could receive warnings, potentially affecting demand. The proposal also follows public anger after reports that Coca-Cola and groups supporting Nestle and PepsiCo opposed front-of-pack warnings in March.

A government source said the activists’ concerns were unfounded. The source said labeling rules are introduced in phases internationally and that India could require warnings for each concerning nutrient in the second phase. The timing and duration of those phases have not been decided, while the government awaits the Supreme Court’s view. A Lancet study cited in the article said India had 180 million overweight or obese adults in 2021, with that number projected to reach 450 million by 2050.

A product that is high in sugar alone remains a diabetes risk

· Rajiv Shankar DvivediThe lawyer representing 3S And Our Health argued that the proposal should not require multiple nutrients to trigger a warning.
About this summary

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog