Almost eight years after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) introduced the first draft regulation related to Front of Pack Labeling (FOPL) of packaged food for comments and suggestions in 2018, the authority is yet to finalize the regulation.In an affidavit dated March 13 on the May 2024 petition in the Supreme Court, FSSAI sought six weeks’ time to submit a proposal on labeling of packaged foods containing high fat, sugar salt (HFSS), consumption of which causes non-communicable diseases.After holding five rounds of consultations with stakeholders, including the food industry, FSSAI informed the court that it is holding another consultation with stakeholders on March 19 on “the labels proposed to be issued”.“The question of front-of-pack labeling has already been the subject of extensive consultation and technical discussions for many years,” Nutrition Advocacy in the Public Interest (NAPI), a think tank of independent experts in epidemiology, nutrition and paediatrics, said in a letter to FSSAI. It said FSSAI should consider formulating the FOPL regulation based on extensive consultation, available evidence and SC orders, rather than reopening the matter through additional stakeholder consultations.The Supreme Court, in its February 10 order, had said that “…we are of the view that whatever exercise has been conducted so far has not yielded any positive or good results”. The court further explained that the PIL was filed to raise an important issue related to the right to health of the citizens.FSSAI had held a consultation in August 2018, followed by a consultation in February 2022 in which all 17 industry associations voted for the star-rating system, while all consumer organizations asked for warning labels.The revised draft of the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations 2020 received over 14,000 comments and suggestions from the public and stakeholders after it was put in the public domain for objections and suggestions. FSSAI had constituted an expert committee to analyze all the comments. In May 2025, FSSAI conducted four stakeholder consultations with food business operators and others in Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad and Kolkata. In October 2025, the food industry had submitted 430 representations to the Ministry of Food Processing, raising “serious concerns over the draft notification”. The parliamentary committee, which is to bring forward a report on food labeling regulation in December 2025, also heard from various food industry associations and their representatives, along with other stakeholders. “How many consultations will it take? The process for regulation began in 2014, when FSSAI prepared guidelines that included front-of-pack labeling specifying how much fat, sugar or salt it contains. How long does it take to bring in a regulation to protect the public health interest? This is despite growing evidence of increased incidence of non-communicable diseases and obesity, even in children, due to the consumption of packaged foods high in fat, salt and sugar. ” NAPI member Dr. Arun Gupta asked.