India drops red-flag food labels after Big Food pushback
India's food regulator has dropped plans for colourful front-of-pack warning labels on chips, soda and other packaged foods after industry pushback. FSSAI now favours a black-and-white nutrition table instead, even as India's Fanta packs far more sugar than the UK version and activists press the Supreme Court for clearer warnings.
The clash, detailed in a Reuters investigation, shows how global brands sell different recipes under the same name—and how hard it is to force eye-catching health alerts onto packs in one of the world's largest packaged-food markets. For more on how regulation and consumer tech reshape everyday products, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
Key Takeaways
- FSSAI abandoned colourful front-of-pack warnings in August after industry resistance.
- It instead proposed a black-and-white table showing sugar, fat and salt levels.
- Indian Fanta carries nearly triple the calories of the UK can and an artificial dye absent from the British recipe.
- Nearly 80% of India's $100-billion-plus packaged food market could qualify as high in fat, sugar or salt.
- Public health activists have taken the labelling fight to India's Supreme Court.
Why does Indian Fanta have more sugar than the UK drink?
A London can of Fanta has about 63 calories. The Indian version delivers nearly triple that energy, with higher sugar, according to reporting that compared shelves in both markets.
The British drink was reformulated after the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy of 2018 pushed brands toward less sugar and low-calorie sweeteners. In India, makers still lean on full sucrose sweetness that matches local taste preferences, and recipes track regional sugar-cane supply chains.
The Indian pack also includes an artificial colour not used in Britain. In Europe, that kind of dye can trigger a prominent health warning; in India, it typically appears only in small print on the back.
What did Big Food say about warning labels?
For years FSSAI floated colour-coded or star-style front labels so shoppers could spot high sugar, salt or fat without reading the back panel. Food companies pushed back hard.
At a March meeting with FSSAI, industry executives called such warnings confusing and ineffective and urged a focus on portion control and education. Coca-Cola India executive Mili Bhattacharya questioned whether people who skip ingredient lists would suddenly eat better just because a symbol appeared on the pack.
Yet Coca-Cola already uses traffic-light-style nutrition labels in several European markets, and Nestlé has used interpretive labels in Britain since 2013. Both companies declined to comment on the Reuters probe.
Industry estimates cited in the investigation suggest nearly 80% of products in India's more than $100-billion packaged food and beverage market could be flagged as high in fat, sugar or salt—flooding shelves with red if colour codes won.
Why does the Supreme Court matter for India's food labels?
In February, India's Supreme Court told regulators to consider stronger front-of-pack warnings and to look at systems used abroad, including Israel. After the March industry meeting, FSSAI shifted course.
In August it told the court matching international packaging standards would be "difficult," arguing Indian food habits differ from Western ones. Activists say front warnings help quick choices; industry says labels alone will not fix diets as obesity risks rise—The Lancet has estimated around 450 million Indians could be overweight or obese by 2050.
The court is still scrutinising the regulator's retreat. The outcome will decide whether India gets loud red-flag labels on chips and soda—or sticks with quieter black-and-white tables that Big Food can live with.