The label revolution: How FoPNL could transform diets, dairy, and trade

The Supreme Court’s recent directive mandating Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels (FoPNL) marks a decisive step in India’s fight against rising lifestyle-related diseases. By requiring food manufacturers to provide clear, visible markers like star ratings and nutrient warnings, the verdict aims to empower consumers with quick, reliable information on packaged foods.

Aligned with global best practices, this move seeks to address obesity, diabetes, and heart-related health challenges. However, its impact on India’s dairy sector, food companies, and trade dynamics makes implementation both complex and transformative.

In a significant move toward promoting healthier dietary habits, the Supreme Court of India has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to implement Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels (FoPNL) on packaged food products without further delay. The directive comes amid growing concerns over India’s obesity crisis and the rising consumption of unhealthy, processed foods. This landmark move aims to empower consumers to make healthier dietary choices and tackle the rising incidence of lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart conditions.

By October 2025, packaged foods could carry two key markers: the Indian Nutrition Rating (INR), a star-based score, and Front-of-Pack Nutrition Warning Labels (FoPNL). The move follows a Supreme Court directive, which asked the Centre to finalise food safety norms within three months after a PIL was filed by NGOs 3S and Our Health.

Several developed countries have adopted Front Of Package Nutrition Labeling (FOPNL) systems, which empower consumers to make healthy choices and prompt food manufacturers and retailers to offer healthier foods.

The supreme court verdict: What’s new?

FOPNL aims to quickly give consumers key information about the healthfulness of foods in a format that is simple and easy to understand. These systems typically use interpretive aids like symbols, colors, or letter grades to communicate a food’s nutritional content.

Some countries have mandatory FOPNL policies that require all qualifying foods to be appropriately labeled, while others have voluntary government-endorsed FOPNL systems that allow manufacturers to opt in. It is designed to provide consumers with quick, clear information to help them make informed choices at the point of purchase.

The government had fixed July 1, 2025, giving a strict three-month deadline from April 2025 for the central government and FSSAI to finalize and enforce these labelling norms.

The FSSAI’s Draft Amendments

The FSSAI’s draft amendments, published in early 2025, emphasize:

• Bold and enlarged font sizes for per-serve percentage contributions of added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium relative to RDA on the front panel.
• A mandatory logo for all milk and milk products, with size specifications based on packaging dimensions.
• Clear, capitalized declarations for coffee-chicory mixtures on the front panel within a rectangular box.

Why It Matters: Health & Transparency

There is extensive scientific evidence demonstrating that FOPNL systems can improve consumer understanding, encourage healthier diets, and even improve the quality of the national food supply.

The FoPNL system enables consumers to gather information such as:

• Nutrient warnings – flagging foods high in sodium, sugar, or saturated fat.
• Traffic light labels – assigning colors (red, yellow, or green) to nutrient levels.
• NutriScore – assigning foods a letter grade (A–E) based on nutrient composition.
• Health warnings – alerting consumers to risks of overconsumption.

Evidence from Chile highlights the success of such policies: daily per capita purchases of sugar, calories, saturated fat, and sodium dropped significantly after mandatory labels were introduced, while the proportion of unhealthy packaged foods in the market also declined.

Impact of FoPNL on dairy

Recently, some dairy products like ghee, paneer, and milk have come under scrutiny for quality and purity. Large-scale testing in Punjab revealed adulteration in paneer and ghee samples, raising health concerns.

Although the Indian Dairy Association (IDA) welcomes the Supreme Court’s directive, it emphasizes that dairy products require nuanced treatment. Milk and its derivatives naturally contain fat, lactose, and sodium — nutrients that could be unfairly flagged under a uniform warning system. Labelling without context risks misrepresenting dairy’s nutritional value and discouraging its consumption, despite it being a major source of protein, calcium, and micronutrients in Indian diets.

The IDA has urged regulators to adopt a balanced approach and include wider stakeholder consultation, particularly farmer-led cooperatives, MSMEs, and large corporates, to ensure fair and practical implementation.

While addressing the panel on the IDA webinar on “Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPNL) – Implications for Milk and Milk Products”, Dr. Rupinder Singh Sodhi, President, IDA said –

“The government introduced the Health Star Rating to expose junk foods loaded with unhealthy ingredients and exaggerated claims, as consumer bodies and NGOs demanded transparency. But unless regulators ensure accuracy, its credibility will be questioned. If such ratings suggest a carbonated drink is healthier than flavored milk, no consumer will trust them. For centuries, natural foods and milk products have been seen as healthy—misleading ratings risk turning this initiative itself into junk.”

Possible Effects of FOPNL 

Milk & Dairy Products in India

1. Some dairy products may look “less healthy,” reducing impulse purchases of flavored milk, shakes, or yogurts.
2. Labels focusing only on “nutrients to limit” could discourage consumption of naturally nutrient-dense dairy like whole milk and paneer.
3. Packaged dairy manufacturers may reformulate products — lowering added sugars, reducing fat content, or changing portion sizes.
4. Packaging redesigns will create compliance costs, especially challenging for smaller cooperatives and local players.

Indian Companies

• Companies will need to invest in nutrition testing and lab analyses to validate nutrient levels (sugar, saturated fat, sodium) as per the nutrient profile model. This includes periodic re-testing to maintain compliance.
• Packaging redesign costs will emerge: new label artwork, printing changes, inventory write-offs for old packaging, and regulatory approval for label proofs.
• Reformulation costs: R&D to reduce sugars, fats or sodium; sourcing alternative ingredients; pilot production batches; stability testing.
• Ongoing monitoring, auditing, and quality assurance systems will need upgrades to ensure labels match real product composition.
• Smaller players may lack technical infrastructure or expertise to carry out these changes, increasing reliance on external service providers or outsourcing.

Global Trade & Exports

• Indian exporters to developed markets (which already enforce or expect clear nutrition labeling) will find alignment with FOPNL helps in smoother market access, regulatory compliance, and competitive positioning.
• Harmonization with international standards may reduce technical rejection at import checks or ease certification requirements.
• Exporters using strong labeling may gain reputational leverage for “transparent” or “health-friendly” branding in foreign markets.
• On the flip side, stricter domestic labeling may increase cost burdens that could reduce export competitiveness if margins are thin unless offset by value addition.

Consumers

• Front labels (warning signs, star ratings, color codes) reduce cognitive burden: consumers can see “at a glance” whether a product is high in sugar, fat, or salt.
• Studies in Indian settings show that FOPLs help consumers more accurately identify products “high in” nutrients of concern compared to traditional nutrition facts panels.
• Experimental evidence globally suggests interpretive labels (e.g. warnings) are more effective in signaling unhealthy products than purely informational ones.
• Also, consumers who already read labels (e.g. health-aware segments) may make better tradeoffs among product variants (flavored vs plain, full-fat vs low-fat).

The Supreme Court’s directive on FoPNL marks a turning point in India’s fight against lifestyle-related diseases. While it promises greater transparency and consumer empowerment, its success will depend on careful implementation, industry adaptation, and public awareness. For dairy in particular, nuanced regulation is essential to balance public health goals with recognition of dairy’s vital nutritional role in Indian diets. With collaborative efforts, FoPNL can reshape India’s food environment into one that is healthier, more transparent, and globally aligned.

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FAQs

1. What is the FSSAI Health Star Rating (HSR)?
The Health Star Rating is a front-of-pack nutrition label introduced by FSSAI to provide consumers with quick, easy-to-understand information on the nutritional quality of packaged foods.

2. How is the rating calculated?
HSR is based on an algorithm that considers nutrients like energy, saturated fat, total sugar, sodium (negative factors), and protein, fiber, fruits, and nuts (positive factors).

3. Why has FSSAI introduced this system?
It aims to combat rising lifestyle diseases in India by helping consumers make healthier food choices and discouraging misleading claims by junk food brands.

4. Will all food products carry the Health Star Rating?
Yes, all packaged and processed foods will eventually be required to display HSR, except certain exempted categories like fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, and single-ingredient foods.

5. Are there concerns about the credibility of HSR?
Yes, experts argue that the current model may mislead consumers—for instance, rating a carbonated drink better than a milk product—so its accuracy and transparency remain under debate.