Diabetes Patients Urge Constitutional Court to Mandate Colour Labels on Packaged Food and Beverages

Two diabetes sufferers, Imamudin and Andru Steven, have filed a material examination of Law No. 8 of 1999 and Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health with the Constitutional Court. In the lawsuit heard on Thursday (3/4/2026), they requested that the Constitutional Court mandate producers of packaged food and drinks to provide symbols and colours to make it easier for the public to distinguish the sugar content within them. In the petition for the case numbered 110/PUU-XXIV/2026, there are three articles to be tested, namely Article 4 letter c, Article 7 letter b of the Consumer Protection Law, and Article 148 of the Health Law. The reason the petitioners filed the lawsuit is that information on sugar content in food and drinks is often presented in the form of technical numbers and very small letters. This makes it difficult for consumers to understand quickly. This condition is deemed to cause legal uncertainty and contradicts Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia regarding guarantees of fair legal certainty. At minimum, regarding this issue, it should not relate to the implementation of norms but to the constitutionality of norms. “If necessary, elaborate on whether there is inclusion of colour labels and similar visual symbols in other countries. Then how to choose the ideal colours and symbols on food and beverage packaging,” added Daniel during the hearing.