'Children's health is important'; Supreme Court orders front-of-pack warning labels on packaged food products

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued strict directions to ensure that packaged food products containing high levels of sugar, salt and fat carry clear warning labels on the front of the packet.

The court said public health cannot be compromised and that consumers, particularly children, should know what they are eating. A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran gave the authorities two weeks to take a decision and implement the measure. Calling it a final warning, the court said it would directly deliver a judgment if the authorities failed to act.

The court pointed out that excessive consumption of sugar, salt, saturated fat and other such ingredients can lead to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. It criticised the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), saying they had failed to act despite repeated calls for the implementation of such warnings. The court was hearing public interest petitions on the issue.

Questions raised by court

1. Don't you (authorities) want people to stay healthy?
2. Especially in the case of growing children?
3. Are you trying to fool the court?
4. Are you succumbing to corporate pressure?

Front-of-Pack warning labels

Under the proposed system, packaged foods such as chips, biscuits and instant snacks containing high levels of sugar, sodium, saturated fat or total fat will carry prominent warning labels on the front of the packet. At present, nutritional information is generally printed in small letters on the back of the packaging, making it difficult for consumers to notice and understand.

The labels may include warnings such as:

• High in Sugar
• High in Sodium
• High in Saturated Fat
• High in Total Fat

No advance tips for taxi rides, Centre tells cab-hailing apps

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has directed ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Ola not to collect tips from passengers before a ride is booked or completed. The ministry has asked the platforms to immediately remove pre-ride tipping prompts. However, passengers can still give tips after completing their journey.

The intervention follows complaints that users were being shown prompts such as “Advance Tip”, “Choose an Add-On” and “Improve Your Chances of Quicker Ride Confirmation” while booking rides. The ministry said such prompts violate the Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines, 2025.