Key Update

Shri Mumbai Jeevdaya Mandli told the Gujarat High Court that the Gujarat government had not established any facility to verify whether the green dot on food packets accurately indicates vegetarian content. The petitioner also noted that the authorities had yet to establish even the basic criteria for standard procedures to test food products.

Existing rules require packaged food products to display specific symbols and colour codes to help consumers identify vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. A green dot indicates that a product contains vegetarian ingredients.

Gujarat High Court Questions Lack of Facilities to Verify Vegetarian Food Labels

However, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with the state government and the Centre over the lack of facilities to verify whether food products labelled as vegetarian actually meet the required standards. The court sought “comprehensive and detailed” responses from the authorities on the issue.

Products carrying the green label should not contain any non-vegetarian ingredients, including eggs or egg flakes derived from animal sources. The High Court directed the authorities to submit affidavits clarifying whether the state has adequate infrastructure to conduct the relevant food safety tests and verify that products carrying the green label meet vegetarian standards.

PIL Seeks Enforcement of Food Labelling Rules

The PIL seeks the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011. It also urges the Gujarat High Court to direct the government to conduct regular market inspections, collect food samples, and test them.

The petition seeks details of criminal prosecutions against businesses selling misbranded or mislabelled food. This includes products labelled as vegetarian despite containing non-vegetarian ingredients.

Advocate N. M. Kapadia submitted that the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court have recognised consumers’ right to know whether a product is vegetarian or non-vegetarian. He argued that this right relates to citizens’ constitutional right to protect their religious beliefs.