PIL in Supreme Court over alarming rise in diabetes in India

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed over the alarming rise in the spread of diabetes and associated diseases in the country.

The plea sought direction to the government to frame regulation for Front of Package Labelling (FOPL) on packaged foods having excessive sugar, salt and oil content and less on nutrients.

“Diabetes has emerged as a silent epidemic in India, affecting millions of individuals and posing a significant burden on our healthcare system. In India, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) claim 6 million lives annually. Shockingly, 1 in 4 individuals in the country is grappling with diabetes, predominantly attributed to obesity,” said the PIL filed by 3S and Our Health Society, a non-government organisation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and various other organisations advocate for robust and mandatory policy frameworks to diminish the consumption of unhealthy food products, said the plea, adding that these frameworks typically involve restrictions or bans on advertising and the implementation of consumer alerts through labelling.

FOPL enables citizens to easily identify and understand the nutritional content and harmful ingredients present in packaged food and beverages, thereby enabling them to make healthier choices, it said.

The plea filed through advocate Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi said that these warning labels would effectively indicate the excessive presence of added sugars, sodium, unhealthy fats, and other harmful substances.

The matter is listed next for hearing on August 27.