SC Seeks FSSAI Response on Front-of-Pack Labelling; Dairy Sector in Focus

The Supreme Court of India has sought a detailed response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on the implementation of Front-of-Pack Labelling (FOPL) norms, as consumer groups and public health advocates push for clearer nutrition signalling on packaged foods. The court’s direction comes amid debates on how FOPL should apply across diverse food categories — including dairy products — to help consumers make healthier choices.

FOPL is designed to provide simple, at-a-glance nutrition information on the front of packaged products, such as high sugar, salt or fat content warnings, to guide better purchasing decisions. While FSSAI had introduced draft FOPL draft guidelines earlier, the regulatory regime remains contested, with industry stakeholders calling for clarity on thresholds, compliance timelines and category-specific adaptations.

Dairy products form a broad and nutritionally varied category in India’s packaged food market — ranging from liquid milk and curd to ghee, cheese, flavoured milks and value-added beverages. Public health experts argue that FOPL could empower consumers to distinguish between nutrient-dense dairy staples and products high in added sugars or saturated fats, such as sweetened flavoured milks and dessert products, without undermining the positive role of staple dairy in diets.

However, dairy industry representatives and cooperative bodies have raised concerns about uniform labelling mandates disproportionately affecting traditional dairy items that naturally contain fats (e.g., full-cream milk and ghee) but are staple sources of energy and nutrition in Indian diets. They urge FSSAI to adopt contextualised labelling criteria that differentiate between nutrient-rich traditional dairy and ultra-processed dairy-derived products whose nutritional profiles may warrant stronger consumer advisories.

The Supreme Court’s intervention indicates judicial scrutiny of how nutritional labelling, consumer rights and industry compliance can be balanced in a way that supports both public health goals and agricultural value chains. The court has asked FSSAI to clarify timelines for mandatory implementation and the scope of exemptions or category adjustments under FOPL regulations.

Consumer advocates welcome the move, saying that clear front-of-pack information can help curb rising lifestyle diseases linked to poor diets, such as obesity and diabetes. For the dairy sector, this presents an opportunity to engage proactively with regulators on scientifically grounded labelling frameworks that preserve the cultural and nutritional value of traditional dairy while signalling added sugars or high fat content in processed variants.

Source : Dairynews7x7 Feb 16th 2026 Read full story here

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Image credits : Gemini