Food giants in India call for reconsidering red colour of warning labels

Unilever

28/09/2026 06:01

NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - India should reconsider the red colour of its proposed warning labels on packaged foods as it can confuse consumers who associate the colour with non-vegetarian ingredient markings, food companies in India have told the Supreme Court.
India's food regulator has proposed a red hexagon warning label system to mark high salt, sugar or fat in packaged items, despite the industry's multi-year campaign to oppose the labels. 
"The average Indian consumer is habituated to associating the colour red with the mandatory non-vegetarian identification mark," the All India Food Processors Association said in a court filing dated September 24, which was reviewed by Reuters.
The Supreme Court is set to review the government's proposal on Monday.
      

 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
 ((Email: aditya.kalra@tr.com; X: @adityakalra;))