Indian Supreme Court bans industry from advisory committee

The verdict was served by the Indian Supreme Court, who found that involvement of high-level beverage and food industry figures – including representatives from PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Unilever – breached legislation of the Food Safety and Standards Act because such panels could not be said to be manned by independent experts.

“We are sorry to say that the panel does not consist of independent persons. It is contrary to the [Food Safety and Standards] Act. What kind of recommendations do you expect from such a panel?”​ stated the ruling.

A petition from the Centre for Public Interest Litigation argued that a conflict of interest existed in allowing staff from large firms to be involved in judging the public safety risk attached to food and drink products.

The ruling stated that representatives from the relevant industry and consumer representatives could be invited for deliberations, but could not form part of the body giving recommendations on the issue.