The activists accused the food regulator of on-pack labeling regulation stalling. Bharat News

Public health advocates have accused India of delaying the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as it has sought three more months to finalize its report in front of the Pack Nutritional Labeling (FOPNL) regulation for its expert committee. The Supreme Court had directed in April that the practice be completed in three months. The FSSAI failed to finalize the amendments two and a half years after the draft regulation was made public in September 2022 and sought comments from all the stakeholders and the public.Pack labeling was proposed in 2014 by an expert committee constituted by FSSAI on the order of the Delhi High Court in 2014. The order came on a PIL in which there was a ban on labeling and sale of junk food in schools. After eleven years, it is still on fire.Last week (7 July) FSSAI filed an application demanding time expansion for compliance with the SC order passed on 9 April. The application showed that FSSAI had organized stakeholder counseling with food business operators and other related stakeholders in four areas in May 2025. The front-off-pack neutrition labeling (Fopnl) said, stating that such meetings were “the necessary response to draft regulation” and needed to be placed before the expert committee.Public Interest (NAPI), a think tank on nutrition, has issued a statement in nourishment in the advocacy of nutrition that questioned the meetings organized by FSSAI with the industry, when all stakeholders were given a similar opportunity to give their feedback and comments were invited to make their feedback on the draft on 13 September 2022. According to FSSAI, it received 14,000 comments and formed an expert committee to analyze the public response to the draft modification notification on 17 February 2023.“Why should FSSAI start a new process? Why were these new invitations invited for comments in September 2022?” NPP asked in his statement that FSSAI had ensured freedom before any regulation on Fopnl for nearly three years by delaying finalizing the amendment.In response to RTI questions, FSSAI refused to make public the 14,000 comments received from stakeholders and the public, citing “commercial confidence”, showing that the industry had already given its reaction. Its application seeking an extension said that the draft report of the recommendations of the expert committee was ready. NPP questioned that the report was not being made public before the Supreme Court ordered the completion of practice in three months.FOPOL, as an effective policy measure globally, admitted that to help consumers to make healthy options and reduce the consumption of ultra-sensitive food, the food industry has been worried about the sale of fall. However, with the research repeatedly establishing that high sugar, salt and fat and low fiber content, processed foods with low-fiber materials are associated with increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases and some cancer, many countries have adopted FOPOL. FSSAI’s extension application also indicates that even after the expert committee report is submitted, any regulation may take months before finalizing with several stages.