India’s food safety regulator has told the Supreme Court that it is willing to consider stronger warning labels on packaged food following questions from judges about its earlier proposal.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had recently suggested introducing red hexagonal warning symbols in the first stage for products that cross the permitted levels in at least two of three areas: added sugar, salt and saturated fat. A tougher set of requirements was planned for a later stage.

The proposal for a two stage system had faced criticism from health campaigners, who argued that the approach could be too relaxed and delay effective consumer warnings.

During Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing, judges questioned the regulator about why stricter requirements could not be introduced from the beginning. In response, FSSAI said it was open to applying stronger labelling rules immediately.

Under the stricter approach being considered, a warning could be placed on a food product if it contains excessive levels of even one of the three nutrients.

The discussion comes after years of delays over the introduction of clearer front of pack warnings for foods containing high amounts of sugar, salt and saturated fat. The proposed labels are intended to help consumers identify products with potentially unhealthy nutritional levels more easily.