New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- Confronting India's fast-rising epidemic of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart ailments, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is preparing to mandate bold front-of-pack warning labels (FOPL) on packaged foods, flagging high salt, sugar and fat content, instead of the earlier star-rating plan, officials in the know of the development said. The shift to this labelling system is a result of a Supreme Court directive from a public interest litigation. While the top court had not specified the label format, it had mandated the authority to act quickly to create a transparent labelling system to combat public health issues. It was given a final three-month extension by the apex court in July 2025 to submit its report, which is currently being finalized. According to a Lancet study earlier this year, India's overweight and obese adult population is projected to soar from 180 million in 2021 to 449 million by 2050, with the world's second-highest burden. Another study by the Indian Council of Medical Research in June 2023 reported around 101 million Indians have diabetes, making it the country the world's diabetes capital. The proposed move also reflects a global shift in how governments tackle non-communicable diseases. With at-a-glance warnings on food packets, the FSSAI hopes to nudge healthier choices in a market worth over $121 billion and growing rapidly. Similar labelling systems in Chile, Israel and Brazil have spurred product reformulation and improved public health outcomes. If implemented with strict compliance, India's version could be one of the most significant public health interventions in recent years, reshaping how millions eat and how companies design their products. Front-of-pack warning labels is a public health initiative designed to simplify complex nutritional information for consumers. Instead of having to read and interpret detailed nutrition tables, the system provides a bold and an easy to read and comprehend warning about a product's healthiness. The primary objective behind this regulation is India's growing public health crisis, characterized by a sharp rise in lifestyle diseases. Unhealthy packaged foods are a significant contributor to this trend. By making these risks immediately visible, the food safety authority aims to build an awareness and encourage healthier eating. "FSSAI's goal is to educate people on healthy eating and help them to make informed choices," said an official familiar with the matter. The proposal, front-of-pack labelling, may come in a different format, rather than in star rating," an official said. "FSSAI reviewed the plan implemented in other countries to understand how successful such initiatives were, and in a country like India, what would be its impact."...