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For years, buying a packet of biscuits, a breakfast cereal, or a fizzy drink in India meant turning the packet around and squinting hard at a nutrition table before understanding what the numbers actually mean. But now, that can finally begin to change. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed prominent red, front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods and beverages that are high in levels of fat, sugar or salt. The proposal comes after months of renewed scrutiny from the Supreme Court over India's long-running and consistent delay on these front-of-pack nutrition warnings.
The timing is relevant here. In 2026, FSSAI will be busy tightening and updating its broader food safety guidelines and framework. Its recent actions include new rules and enforcement measures on contaminants and residues, vegan food labelling, food business licensing, and risk-based inspections, while its enforcement teams have also acted against fraudulent relabelling and substandard storage. In July, FSSAI reported the seizure of more than 50,000 pieces in a Delhi operation involving fraudulent relabelling and storage violations.
But the red label proposal is an impending change for consumers, with the biggest potential impact. This is because it moves food labelling away from information that sits quietly on the back of a packet, towards a warning that shoppers are expected to notice before opting for the product.
So, What Exactly Is The Red Label?
The proposal is for a red-coloured hexagonal warning on the front of packaged foods that cross specified thresholds for certain nutrients. The warnings would state messages boldly, such as “HIGH FAT”, “HIGH SUGAR” and “HIGH SALT”. Certain highly sweetened beverages would also carry a separate “HIGHLY SWEETENED BEVERAGE” warning. The purpose of this labelling is to make potentially concerning nutritional characteristics immediately visible, particularly for children.
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This is important because India already requires packaged foods to provide nutrition information. But the problem is accessibility. A consumer standing in a supermarket aisle should not need to calculate percentages, decipher technical or nutritional terminology, or compare several small data tables to work out which of the two similar products contains more sugar or salt. The proposed warning attempts to answer these basic queries at a glance.
Which Foods Could Get One?
Think less about a fixed list of “junk foods” and focus more on packaged products whose composition crosses the proposed nutrient levels for a healthy lifestyle. Automatically, a list of familiar foods and categories joins the conversation, such as biscuits, cookies, cakes, packaged savoury snacks, instant noodles, breakfast spreads, and various other ready-to-eat preparations. Depending on the final formulation and further FSSAI updates, certain sauces and chutneys may also join the wagon.
However, the proposal does not say that every biscuit, packet of namkeen, or bottled drink will automatically receive a red warning. The trigger here is nutritional composition, not the name or brand of food. This red label food warning will be executed in two phases. The first phase is particularly important as FSSAI has proposed that products high in two or more of the specified nutrients (added fat, added sugar and salt) would receive a relevant red warning on the front of the pack.
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A second phase would extend this system to more products that overstep the threshold for even any one of those nutrients. The proposal also includes a separate warning for specified highly sweetened beverages. This phased approach is intentional in order to give manufacturers time to reformulate their products and prepare for compliance.
Why These Three Nutrients?
The logic is fairly straightforward. Sugar, salt and fats are not inherently villainous ingredients with nefarious intentions. All three have legitimate places in your daily diet. The concern is excessive intake, especially when highly processed packaged foods make it easy and tasty to consume substantial quantities throughout the day, without realising. The Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Nutrition's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, emphasise healthier dietary patterns and caution consumers against excessive intake of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt. Instead, they recommend a varied diet built around multiple food groups in proper portions.
This makes the proposed labels less about declaring a food universally ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and more about giving shoppers an early signal: this product contains high levels of a nutrient that latest dietary guidelines tell you to moderate. Keep in mind that a red label does not mean that eating a biscuit once in a while is dangerous. But that does not imply that the absence of a red label makes a packaged food automatically nutritious. There should be logic and balance in your approach, instead of viewing the world through rose-coloured glasses.
What About Single-Ingredient Foods?
The FSSAI red label food warning proposal exempts basic single-ingredient foods such as edible oils, salt, sugar, jaggery, honey and ghee. This is sensible as these particular foods are naturally concentrated sources of certain nutrients. For example, applying a warning like “HIGH IN FAT” to a jar of ghee does not really serve the purpose and would tell the consumer very little that they did not already know. However, this highlights an important factor: why warning labels can never replace food literacy.
A product can avoid a red warning and still be something a person should consume thoughtfully. Conversely, a food may carry a warning and still have a legitimate home in a balanced, diverse diet. The red label is a signpost, not a complete nutritional verdict. So, even after it starts rolling out in markets, keep calm and pick products according to the provided information. That is ultimately where India's food-label future should be heading: not towards frightening consumers away from every packaged food, but towards aiding them in making smart and informed choices.
