Govt reply sought on colour-coding of consumer products

The court said that the order should be communicated to the ministry of consumer affairs and the health ministry.

The Delhi high court on Thursday sought the Centre’s response on a plea that products -- not just food items -- should be tagged as vegetarian or non-vegetarian on the basis of their ingredients and on the bases of the items used in their manufacturing processes.

Delhi high court (Mint)

The petition, filed by the Ram Gau Raksha Dal trust, contended that it is the Fundamental Right of citizens to know whether or not the food they consume, cosmetics they use, and clothes that they wear, either contain or are manufactured by using components or parts derived from the body of an animal.

The plea sought to formulate appropriate guidelines and policies for the strict implementation of the existing rules to mandate manufacturers to label their products.

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh, while hearing the matter, said: “There can be no denying the fact that every person has the right to know, which springs from the Right to Freedom of Speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The issues raised herein have a bearing on Right to Life preserved under Article 21 in as much as a person is entitled to profess and follow his beliefs, which is also protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. We, therefore, direct the respondent authorities to seriously examine the issues and respond to the petition within three weeks.”

The court said that the order should be communicated to the ministry of consumer affairs and the health ministry. It has also sought to set up an expert committee to examine the feasibility of labelling all consumer items and products as “vegetarian” and “non-vegetarian”.

To be sure, packaged food items are tagged with red (non vegetarian) and green (vegetarian) tags based on ingredients, as per to Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) Rules issued in 2011.

During the hearing, the additional solicitor general (ASG) Chetan Sharma, supported the petition, and said that the petitioner has raised a very important issue. He sought time to file his response.

The Centre’s standing counsel Ajay Digpaul accepted notice on behalf of the ministries.

The matter will now be heard on December 9.