Open Access Research Article

LEGAL REGULATION OF ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS IN INDIA: ASSESSING STATE POWER TO MANDATE FRONT-OF-PACKAGE WARNINGS, TAX SUGARY BEVERAGES, AND RESTRICT JUNK FOOD MARKETING TO MINORS

Author(s):
SHREAY AGRAWAL HARSH VARDHAN SINGH
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 7
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Abstract

India faces a rapidly growing burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) alongside the expanding market penetration of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This paper asks whether, and how far, the Indian State may use law to mandate front-of-package warnings (FOPW), tax sugary beverages and restrict the marketing of unhealthy foods to children. It argues that the constitutional case for such measures is strong. Article 21 (as interpreted to include health), Article 47 and Articles 39(e)–(f) supply a positive obligation, and the Seventh Schedule gives both Union and States overlapping competence. The real constraints lie elsewhere: the doctrinal uncertainty over commercial speech under Article 19(1)(a), the narrow grounds listed in Article 19(2), the post-2017 collapse of independent State taxing power under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, and the failure of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to convert a decade of consultation into binding rules. Drawing on Indian jurisprudence and on the experience of Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and Australia, the paper concludes that a proportionality-based framework, grounded in an evidence record and anchored in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, is the most defensible route to regulation.

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Authors: SHREAY AGRAWAL & HARSH VARDHAN SINGHRegistration ID: 1013302 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13302 & IJLRA13303Year: Oct-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 7Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, IndiaPage No.: 574- 597

Article Information

LEGAL REGULATION OF ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS IN INDIA: ASSESSING STATE POWER TO MANDATE FRONT-OF-PACKAGE WARNINGS, TAX SUGARY BEVERAGES, AND RESTRICT JUNK FOOD MARKETING TO MINORS

Authors: SHREAY AGRAWAL, HARSH VARDHAN SINGH

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 7
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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
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