“The draft was in the works for sometime but this is the first time that it has been formally notified. The challenge lies in defining junk as it is a very loose term. What we are looking at is prohibiting ready-to-eat packaged food that’s high in fat, salt, and sugar in and around schools,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that notified the draft regulations.
It also prohibits sponsorship from brands selling food and beverages with low nutritional value such as carbonated drinks, chips, pre-cooked packaged noodles, fries etc at sporting, school and other events for children.
Experts feel if junk food is unavailable in schools, it will help in cutting down its intake among children.
“I have worked with schools in the past and seen first-hand how eating habits of children improve for better if junk food isn’t available in the kitchen. A plate of rajma-chawal is any day better than a burger or noodles. About one-thirds of a child’s nutritional requirement is met in school, so what a child eats in school plays an important role in their healthy growth,” says Ritika Samaddar, regional head, dietetics, Max Healthcare.
The state food authorities will conduct surveillance and periodic inspection to ensure compliance, and failure to comply with the regulations could lead to action against the defaulters by the state education department or the affiliation body.
Considering the rising incidences of obesity among school goers that makes them prone to lifestyle-related disorders later in life, the Delhi high court in 2015 had directed the central food regulator to form regulations for healthy diets for school children.
The recently released government report on adolescent nutrition in India found half of the country’s adolescents (10 to 19 years) – almost 63 million girls and 81 million boys – to be either short, thin, overweight or obese.
At least 80% of adolescents also suffer from ‘hidden hunger’, meaning they are deficient in one or more micronutrients such as iron, folate, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
“School authority shall ensure that no person shall offer or expose for sale of pre-packaged foods which are referred to as foods high in fat, salt and sugar as per the Food Safety and Standards (labelling and display) Regulations, 2019 to school children in school canteens/mess premises/hostel kitchens or within 50 meters of the school campus,” the draft published on Thursday said.
The draft regulations apply also to food vending machines installed within school premises.
“The school authority shall encourage and promote consumption of a safe and balanced diet in the schools canteen/mess/kitchen… may engage with nutritionists, dietitians, nutrition associations or seek parental support to assist in the drafting of menu for the children, periodically,” the draft further reads.
The food regulator expects the new regulations to be effective by June 2020. “It will take some time to implement and we also are giving the states powers to modify the regulations further as per their local requirements,” said Agarwal.
When contacted, Pepsico declined to comment for the story.
Prasanta Patnaik