India wanted red flags on chip packets and soda. Big Food fought back

According to Reuters, as carried by Business Recorder, India's food-safety regulator has dropped its push for colour-coded warnings on the front of packaged food. Instead it proposed a monochrome chart listing sugar, fat and salt levels, arguing that warning symbols fail to reflect the intensity of Indian cuisine. India's Supreme Court is now scrutinising that decision after a challenge filed by health campaigners.

The reversal came after a tense March meeting with industry executives who described the labels as confusing and ineffective, according to audio recordings Reuters reviewed. Coca-Cola India executive Mili Bhattacharya told that session it was very simplistic to expect a symbol to change diets, and that doctors already taught patients what to avoid. Meanwhile Coca-Cola HBC has voluntarily added traffic-light labels to drinks in around two dozen European markets, and Nestle has used interpretive labels in Britain since 2013.

Coca-Cola and Nestle declined to comment for the report, while the FSSAI cited ongoing court proceedings when asked. A recent Lancet study estimates that 450 million Indians may be obese or overweight by 2050, and about 20 nations have adopted interpretive front-of-pack labels. After the March meeting, however, the regulator backed away from interpretive labelling, which experts say can encourage healthier eating habits.