FSSAI proposes red hexagon warnings on packaged food

FSSAI has proposed “a red hexagonal front-of-pack warning system for packaged foods containing high levels of added sugar, added saturated fat or salt.” A compliance affidavit was submitted on Friday, after the Supreme Court directed the authorities to formulate appropriate regulations.

The rollout is proposed in two phases, and the gap between them is where the operator work sits. Phase 1 covers products that exceed the limits for at least two specified nutrients, plus specified highly sweetened beverages. Phase 2 widens it to products that exceed the prescribed limit for any single nutrient. A SKU that clears Phase 1 because it breaches only one limit is not safe. It is simply caught later.

The warnings would state “High Fat”, “High Sugar” or “High Salt”. Specified sweetened beverages would carry a “Highly Sweetened Beverage” declaration. The type size is specified as “one point larger than the font used in the nutrition information table”, so this is not a footnote on the back of pack.

The thresholds are the missing piece. Nutrient limits are to be determined using the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024, from ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, but no gram or percentage figures are specified in the proposal as reported. Until those numbers are published, no brand can say with certainty which side of a line a formulation sits on.

The exclusions are short and literal: single-ingredient foods inherently high in fat, sugar or salt, specifically “ghee, edible oil, salt, sugar, jaggery and honey.”

The Supreme Court had questioned whether “such numerical information would be readily understood by ordinary consumers” and raised concerns about industry pressure, with the Bench emphasising “the particular vulnerability of children to packaged food products.”

This is a proposal, not a rule in force, and no implementation date has been given. It follows the separate FSSAI move on claim words that we covered on 27 August.

For a brand operator, a red hexagon is a merchandising event rather than a labelling tweak. It changes what the pack communicates on a shelf and, more sharply, in a thumbnail on a quick commerce app. Start the triage now. Sort the portfolio into SKUs that would trip Phase 1 on two nutrients and SKUs that would only trip Phase 2 on one, because reformulation and pack redesign both run on long lead times and you cannot start either after the thresholds land.