Bhubaneswar, Aug. 31 -- Consumers may soon be able to identify unhealthy packaged food at a glance, with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) proposing red warning labels on the front of food packets. The move is aimed at making information on excessive sugar, salt and fat easier to understand without forcing consumers to read complicated nutritional tables.

The proposed label will use a red hexagonal symbol to indicate when specified nutrients cross permissible limits. The criteria have been prepared based on the 2024 dietary guidelines of ICMR-NIN.

In the first phase, the warning may be required when two or more specified nutrients exceed the prescribed limits. In the subsequent phase, even one nutrient crossing th...