New Delhi, Sept. 29 -- The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over its decision to push the mandatory implementation of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FoPL) to July 2028, as it reserved orders on revised guidelines submitted by the authority for the court's nod. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said, "Why do you need so much time and why do you need to start the consultation process afresh." The FSSAI had last week informed the court of its decision to implement the labelling guidelines in a single phase, shifting from its earlier approach of introducing the norms in two phases depending on the number of "nutrients of concern" in a product. The authority said the proposed guidelines would require consultation and finalisation, a process expected to take four months, with the labelling norms to be notified by July 1 next year. Food business operators would then be given a year (365 days) from the date of notification to shift to the new labelling regime to ensure the least hardship. The bench said, "We are undertaking this exercise for the good of the nation and the citizens and so we expect the authorities to accept our order in the true spirit. Whatever order we pass will be binding on all authorities." The order was reserved in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by "3S and Our Health Society". The society, represented by advocate Rajiv Shankar Dwivedi, submitted that the revised guidelines should be adopted and implemented immediately, as the consultation process had already been completed. He said the court had also backed the immediate rollout of FoPL guidelines as the issue concerns the health of citizens, particularly the young generation. Additional solicitor general Brijender Chahar, appearing for the Centre, said consultations were mandatory as the previous FoPL guidelines were based on "star rating", while the proposed regime would depict HIGH FAT, HIGH SUGAR and HIGH SALT content in red hexagonal images against a white background. The court also heard manufacturers led by senior advocate Maninder Singh before allowing the parties to file written submissions. The bench indicated it would keep the petition pending to monitor implementation, saying, "Our directions will be in the larger interest of the country. We want the authorities not to disappoint us when it is time to review compliance of our directions."...