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Directing for "full and complete disclosure of all the ingredients which go into the manufacture of any food article," a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh of the Delhi High Court has observed that, "Every person has a right to know as to what he/ she is consuming, and nothing can be offered to the person on a platter by resort to deceit, or camouflage," on a plea by a Namdhari Sikh Trust stating that such non-disclosure leads to violation of their right to freedom of religion.

Calling for strict compliance in the matter by Food Business Operators and regulatory authorities, the Court said, that even if the usage of animal ingredients constitutes "a miniscule percentage," "the use of non-vegetarian ingredients would render such food articles non-vegetarian, and would offend the religious and cultural sensibilities/ sentiments of strict vegetarians, and would interfere in their right to freely profess, practice and propagate their religion and belief."

It directed that such ingredients are required to be disclosed on food packaging by manufacturers not only by their code names, but also by disclosing their sources - for instance whether these ingredients originate from a plant, or animal source, or whether they are manufactured in a laboratory, irrespective of the percentage  of such ingredients, in the food article.

"It should also be fairly disclosed as to what is the plant source, or animal source – as the case may be, in respect of all the ingredients in whatever measure they are used."

Without naming any brands in particular, the Court took note of the ingredient coded as E631 denoting Disodium Inosinate, i.e. disodium salt of inosinic acid with the chemical formula C10H11N4Na2O8P. The bench said that while this ingredient "is used as a food additive and often found in instant noodles, potato chips, and a variety of other snacks... A little search on #Google search engine shows that it is often sourced from pig fat."

Background

The Delhi High Court had earlier directed the Centre to respond within three weeks to a petition seeking strict implementation of rules mandating manufacturers to label their products as vegetarian or non-vegetarian according to the ingredients used in it.

The petition filed by Ram Gau Raksha Dal states that the members of the Petitioner Trust adhere to the tenets of Namdhari religion, which is a sect of Sikhism. They state that the community considers cows to be sacred and therefore, the very idea of harming them even in the slightest form, let alone for human consumption or usage, is considered abhorrent.

Further, the petition contend that it is the Fundamental Right of any citizen to know whether or not the food they consume, cosmetics and perfumes they use, clothes/garments they wear, contain, or are manufactured by using, components or parts derived from the body of an animal.

“It can be quite astonishing to observe how many animal by-products are squeezed into cosmetics these days and are given misleading names for the sake of their marketability”, the petition states.

The following grounds have been enlisted as cause for petition:

• The absence of any indication or labeling with respect to the nature of contents of the products and the consequent accidental usage thereof by customers, infringes upon the Fundamental Right to protection of Life and Personal Liberty as guaranteed to every citizen by Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
• The inaction on part of the manufacturers is ultra vires Article 25 of the Constitution of India which protects for all persons their Fundamental Right to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practice their religion, which implies that it is not only the belief in the philosophy of a religion which is guaranteed by the Constitution but also the acts done in endurance of those beliefs.
• The secrecy claimed by manufacturers, with respect to the components used in manufacturing people is affecting the right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, which grants the citizens of India the fundamental right of full disclosure of the components of products and commodities.
• Section 2 (9) (vi) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, "consumer rights" include the right to consumer awareness, which makes it all the more imperative for the manufacturers to enable a free flow of accurate information about their products.
• The growing global trend of what is popularly called 'Veganism which is the need of the hour and thus, instead of being made to live a life by default, opportunities have to be made available to people to be able to decide for themselves as to what principles would they want to live their lives on.

Thus, the petitioner has prayed for guidelines/policies to for mandating manufacturers to label their products according to the nature of the ingredients and also on the basis of the items used during its manufacturing processes. To set up an Expert Committee to examine the feasibility of labeling all items that are used by consumers, to be labeled as vegetarian and non-vegetarian products.

The observed that “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.” In lieu of the same, the government authorities have been ordered to examine the issues and respond to the petition within three weeks.

Cause Title: Ram Gaua Raksha Dal vs Union Of India & Others