The Madras High Court has taken a commendably forward-looking view of food safety by refusing to recall its order that requires plastic/PET water bottles as well as salt and sugar packets to carry a legible warning on the likely presence of micro- and nano-plastics.

There has been a predictable pushback to the earlier order from the food industry, but the regulator, FSSAI, took a retrograde stand by throwing its weight behind the manufacturers rather than the citizens whose health it is mandated to protect.

In the event, the Bench, which has been reviewing pollution and unsustainable activity in the Nilgiris, was unconvinced by the arguments made by the interested parties.

They opposed labelling, citing the lack of conclusive evidence, its........

© Free Press Journal