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India’s food regulator has published a draft rule that would stop companies adding sucrose and fructose to foods meant for babies up to six months old. It is a clear signal on sugar in early life. It also leaves out the six-to-24-month products that sparked a national row over baby cereal two years ago.

What the draft actually says

The Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Amendment Regulations, 2026 were published in the Gazette of India on 16 October, and Reuters reported the proposal the next day. The change is one line long. It inserts a provision into Regulation 3(6) of the 2020 infant nutrition rules stating that “sucrose and fructose must not be added to products intended for infants up to six months of age.”

Under the current rules, lactose and glucose polymers are the preferred carbohydrates in infant nutrition products. Sucrose and fructose are allowed when needed, but capped: together they can make up at most 20 per cent of total carbohydrates. The draft would take that allowance to zero for the youngest age group.

FSSAI said on X that “the draft amendment aims to reduce early exposure to added sugars.” The Union health ministry said the aim is to make sure infant products meet “age-appropriate nutritional requirements.” Reuters reported that the regulator also linked the move to the health risks of childhood obesity. The public has 60 days from the date the Gazette copies were made available to send objections. Until it is notified as final, it is a proposal, not a ban.

Why the first six months matter

The World Health Organization’s advice is that infants “receive exclusively breast milk for the first six months of life.” Packaged products sold for this age group are, by definition, meant for babies who are not being fed that way, which makes their recipe a regulatory matter rather than a parenting choice.

WHO has also been blunt about sugar. A WHO Europe study, reported by AFP in 2019, examined nearly 8,000 baby food products in Austria, Bulgaria, Israel and Hungary. Around a third contained added sugar or other sweeteners, and up to 60 per cent were labelled as suitable for babies under six months. WHO warned that early exposure to sweet products may create a lifelong preference for sugary food, and recommended banning added sugars and sweeteners in baby foods altogether. That study was European, not Indian, but it is the kind of evidence regulators cite when they move on this question.

The gap: six months to two years

India’s infant nutrition rules cover products for children from birth to 24 months, Reuters noted. The draft, as published, touches only the first quarter of that window.

That matters because the most heated recent argument was about older babies. In April 2024, Swiss investigative group Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network alleged that Nestle added sugar to Cerelac, a cereal for children over six months, in India but not in markets such as the UK and Germany. Nestle India refuted the charge of treating the two markets differently. FSSAI began collecting samples of infant formula and cereals from Nestle and other makers. At the time, Nestle India chairman Suresh Narayanan said Cerelac held over 70 per cent of India’s infant cereal market.

Nothing in the new draft, as reported, extends the added-sugar ban to that six-to-24-month category. Parents who read the headline as “no more sugar in baby food” should read the age limit too.

Part of a bigger push on packaged food

The infant food draft lands in the middle of what Reuters has described as an unprecedented food safety crackdown. In August, under pressure from the Supreme Court, FSSAI proposed red front-of-pack warnings for foods high in sugar, salt or fat. In a 23 September court filing seen by Reuters, it tightened the plan so that a warning appears even if just one nutrient crosses the limit. It told the court the rules would be finalised in about four months, followed by a 365-day “voluntary implementation period” for industry.

The backdrop is a sharp rise in weight-related disease. Reuters, citing a study in The Lancet, reported that India had 180 million overweight or obese adults in 2021, a number projected to reach 450 million by 2050. The packaged food industry these rules apply to is worth more than $100 billion, and companies have pushed back hard on the labelling proposals.

What to watch

The comment window. Infant food makers have 60 days to respond. Watch whether they argue for exemptions for specialised formulas, and whether health groups push for the ban to cover products up to 24 months.

The final text. Drafts can change before notification. The key test is whether the six-month line survives, moves, or is joined by a separate limit for complementary foods.

The label. Once front-of-pack warnings are final, baby and toddler products will face the same sugar scrutiny as biscuits and colas. For parents, the label, not the marketing, is the place to check.