India Drops Front-of-Pack Food Warnings After Industry Lobbying

A can of Fanta sold in London contains 63 calories, while the same brand in India has nearly triple the sugar content and includes an artificial dye that requires a prominent health warning in Europe but is only noted in small print on Indian packaging. This disparity highlights a broader conflict over food labeling in India, where the nation's food safety regulator has abandoned a push for colorful front-of-pack warning labels after intense lobbying from multinational food companies. The decision is now under scrutiny by India's Supreme Court.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) announced in August that it would not implement interpretive labels, such as color-coded warnings highlighting high sugar or fat content. Instead, it proposed a black-and-white table displaying nutritional information. The regulator argued that such warning labels do not account for the more intense flavors of Indian cuisine compared to Western food. This reversal came after a tense meeting on March 19 with industry executives, who contended that the labels were confusing and ineffective.

At that meeting, a senior Coca-Cola India executive argued that it was simplistic to believe a...