Junk food to be banned from school premises across the nation

March 13, 2014 - PRLog -- News From  https://www.janpratinidhi.com/News/T800/Junk-food-to-be-banned-from-school-premises-across-the-nation

The center is set to ban the sale of junk food in school canteens and school premises. A panel consisting of expert groups has proposed restricting the availability and consumption of junk foods and foods considered high in fat, sugar and salt in schools along with areas in 50 meter proximity of school buildings.

The expert group has also urged on increasing the availability of wholesome food to schoolchildren across the country. It submitted its final guidelines to the Delhi High Court on Wednesday which clearly mentions that schools must regulate the sale of junk food items such as burgers, pizzas, chips, samosas and colas to rein in obesity and hypertension among children.

The expert committee has been set up by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on a direction by the Court to advise the Central Advisory Committee to develop guidelines for making available quality and safe food in schools.

``It is recommended that the government may advise the Advertising Standards Council of India or any other relevant body to consider developing such a framework for (1) regulating advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (2) limiting reach of such advertisements in the electronic media where the school children are the key audience (3) restricting celebrity endorsements for such foods and (4) regulating promotional activities of such foods targeted at the children,’’ as specified in the expert’s guideline.

The guideline further stresses the need to regulate `the exposure and power of advertisements and promotional activities’ that are targeted at children.

Besides, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been directed to make sure that the labels on all food packets should carry information on the type and quantity of various nutrients and how much the serving size contributes to the total daily requirement.