Artery-clogging and obesity-causing packaged snacks having high fat, salt or sugar, have finally come under the radar of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It has decided to regulate and make labelling mandatory for such items in view of their health hazards particularly among kids.
The move to regulate such foods, which are also referred as junk foods, has come days after the top food regulator banned ‘unhealthy’ maggi noodles which were found to have excess lead and test enhancer and sought test samples of pasta and macaroni to find if they too contain ingredients beyond permissible limits.
Concerned that it should not be seen sitting pretty over the health threats being caused by fatty foods and those having high sugar and salt, the FSSAI last week set up an11-member panel to decide regulatory limit as well labelling requirements needed for them.
Incidentally, the US Food and Department Authority, a day ago, set three years deadline to its food industry to eliminate trans-food from all the food products.
A senior official from the FSSAI said that the Delhi High Court has already asked the authority to issue directions on implementing rules to ban junk food in and around schools, the panel will look into more details on the health issue related to not only to junk foods but also all type of foods high in salt, sugar and fat.
Chips, fried foods, sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages, sugar-sweetened non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, potato fries and confectionery items are usually seen as most common unhealthy foods.
The panel will recommend regulatory limits for fat, sugar and salt that can be added in food during manufacturing process or those imported or marketed in the country.
To begin with the regulation will be applicable on packaged foods.
“It would also suggest the labelling to be mentioned as well as prescribe regulations for display of such ingredients in food products being sold and served in eating joints,” the official added.
IMA General Secretary Dr KK Agarwal welcomed the move saying that all the developed countries have regulations of these threatening ingredients. “There should be zero trans-fat and low quantity of salt and sugar.” They promote obesity, which can lead to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
The members include D Prabhakaran, director of Centre for Chronic Conditions & Injuries, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Rajib Dasgupta from Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health School of Social Sciences, JNU, Dr Umesh Kapil from AIIMS, dietician Dr Rekha Sharma, Dr Pulin Kumar Gupta, associate professor of medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research and Dr Vandana Jain, Department of Paediatrics, AIIMS.