In the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s own words, India must tackle obesity head‑on. The Economic Survey 2024–25 has flagged obesity and diabetes as major public health challenges, and recommends mandatory, stringent labelling on unhealthy food products. The Dietary Guidelines for Indians recommend avoidance of HFSS foods to reduce consumption , these being unhealthy and aggressively marketed.

Why This Matters?

According to WHO India report consumption of unhealthy diets High Fat/Salt/Sugar food products is rising at 13.7% annual growth and is responsible for India’s Obesity & Diabetes Crisis with 1 in 4 adults overweight or obese, 101 million adults with diabetes and 136 million pre-diabetics. The junk food epidemic is happening in India.

Our Right to Know 

Every Indian has the constitutional right to know what they are consuming. In the case of food, especially pre-packaged products high in salt, sugar, and fat, this right is violated when clear, science-based warning labels are denied. Without accessible and truthful front-of-pack information, you are deprived of informed choice and left vulnerable to rising obesity and diabetes. You should know what is inside the packet, #PacketKeAndarKyaHai  Imagine a snack with ‘3 Stars’ on its label and containing 6 teaspoons of hidden sugar per 100 gram.

What is the FSS Regulation as of now?

The Draft Regulation of 2022 recommends “Stars” on the front of the pre- packaged food products.  If this is adopted then Labels will show Stars and hide sugar/salt or fats.  Examples:

Biscuits: 2 Stars — but “High in Sugar, Salt, Fat, and Calories”

Breakfast Cereal : 2.5 Stars yet 6 tsp of suagr per 100 gm

Soft Drink: 2 Stars —6 tsp of sugar per bottle.

The Supreme Court Has Spoken  

“You have grandchildren? Let the order come. You’ll know what Kurkure and Maggi are… The packets have no information.”– Supreme Court of India, April 2025  

“The Union has decided to undertake necessary amendments in the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Amendment Regulations, 2022”  Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in response to a PIL to seek warning labels on HFSS foods, has directed the Union of India to complete this work on Amendment to the draft Notification of 2022 on Labelling and Display, within 3 months.

The Court’s urgency underscores why warning labels—not stars—are essential.

The Evidence

Global Food Research Programme (Jan 2025) evidence confirms that Warning Labels are effective and not Health Stars. In fact of-package warning label systems have proven to be more effective than other FOPL systems at helping consumers make healthier food choices. Chile’s Warning Labels led to a 24% drop in sugary drink purchases in one year. Evidence from India suggests warning Labels to be the best to identify unhealthy food products.

With the above information, we call on the Government of India to uphold this fundamental right to know by mandating warning labels on  pre-packaged packaged food products that indicate the content of sugar/salt or fats.

We, the people of India demand- Replace "Stars" with mandatory warning labels on all HFSS pre-packaged food products informing  “High in Sugar/Salt/Fat” 

🖊️ Sign the petition. Demand Truth.

Moved by: The Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest(NAPi) and  '3S and Our Health'.

The Petition is endorsed by : 

1.     Revant Himatsinghika (FoodPharmer), Social media influencer @foodpharmer2

2.     Vir Sanghvi, Senior Journalist, writes on food. @virsanghvi

3.     Sonal Kaushal( Social media influencer-The Motor Mouth Show @the_motormouth

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🚨 What’s really inside the packet?
Junk food with excess sugar, salt & fat — and no warning!

✊ Sign the petition to demand clear warning labels:
🔗 https://chng.it/wJBdnqcCRK
#PacketKeAndarKyaHai #RightToKnow