Avoid junk food, practise mindful eating

It's quite amusing to learn that currently there is no law or regulation in the country which directs front-of-pack labeling/symbol-based warning to warn consumers about harmful levels of fat, salt, and sugar hiding in ultra-processed junk foods. The reply was furnished by the Health Ministry in the Lok Sabha recently.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which is the nodal agency to supervise the quality standards in the country is yet to formulate a law in this regard.

This is one of the main reasons behind the excessive obsession of our kids and many ignorant people with junk foods. Being unaware of their nutritional composition and their usefulness, people are getting attracted to their fancy advertisements and colorful packaging and consuming excessively.

When the manufacturers of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages are warning the consumers of their ill effects by mentioning their composition with an additional caution note that their consumption is detrimental to the consumers' health why not the same for fat, sugar, and salt rich foods? When a mandatory instruction has been issued to those manufacturers, why not for these too? Having been addicted to those easily available options, children are getting reluctant toward our nutritionally rich traditional snack made of groundnut, sesame, ginger, and sprouts.

This is a worrisome issue and needs to be addressed with due alacrity. India has already gained the infamous reputation of being the diabetic capital of the world and other lifestyle diseases like Obesity, Hypertension, and Heart attack are turning silent killers and taking a heavy toll. According to WHO statistics, around 25 million Indians suffer from cardiovascular diseases which amount to 60% of the global figure. It's time to respond to save the future generations of these fast foods and junk food.

First and foremost, all manufacturers of such foods shall be mandated to specify the nutritional composition, suitability of age, adverse effects if any likely to be raised out of their consumption on those packets.

The branding strategy adopted in supplying fortified rice is a role model in this area. Fortified rice blended with micronutrients like Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamins ie Vitamin B-12 is a potential alternative to combat chronic anaemia and undernutrition. It has also been adjudged as a cost-effective and culturally acceptable strategy in this regard. Fortified Rice is branded with a special logo with F+ to differentiate it from the normal commodity.

Food Corporation of India, the principal procurement agency of the country is also tasked with the distribution of Fortified Rice to the beneficiaries of the Integrated Child Development Scheme and Mid Day Meal scheme through the Public Distribution System in the country. The Eat Right India campaign by the FSSAI and My Plate for the Day by ICMR – NIN are laudable initiatives in this direction but due attention has not been garnered by these projects.

Further, previously the Delhi High Court had issued a directive to prohibit the sale of these fat, sugar, and salt-rich foods within a 50m radius of the institutions. It needs to be enforced in true spirit. Let the spirit of mindful eating be inculcated into every kid of this country to keep the aspirations of the nation healthy and active.

Satish Reddy Kanaganti, Tipparthy, Nalgonda