New Delhi: The government is looking to come up with regulations that will cap the sale of foods rich in fat and sugar within a 50-metre radius of schools, amid concerns about the country’s rapidly growing obesity rates, especially in children. The rules would impact family stores; restaurants and street vendors around 1.5 million schools in the country where products such as sugary drinks, chips, samosas, pizzas, burgers and other items are sold.
The plan is being spearheaded by the food safety regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The goal is to divert children from unhealthy eating habits at an early stage, said its executive head, Rajit Punhani, to Reuters. The effect on businesses would be minimal, he said, as shopkeepers would still have the ability to sell items that are under the amount of fat, salt and sugar limits set in the food standards. “It’s an obligation for businesses to change recipes, not a prohibition on them.”
The law was introduced in 2020 but has no set date in which it is supposed to be enacted. Theauthority has issued guidelines for fat, salt and sugar levels, and will be consulting with the public until Oct. 6.
This measure is on top of the pressure already being felt by global food companies. If PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Nestle already have proposed red warning labels for products with too much fat, salt and sugar, India is getting closer to Chile and Mexico.
There are variations between the federal approach and some state rules. The national law should prevent shops selling or advertising these kinds of products to school children only but not in the immediate vicinity of schools. In Maharashtra, the restriction is even more stringent; no shops within 50 metres of any school will be allowed to stock them. It would not be possible to know the customers of a shop when hundreds of shops are located close to schools, state food safety commissioner Tukaram Mundhe told PTI.
Based on state inspection data accessed by Reuters, inspectors have identified a violation at 133 shops within that radius and issued instructions to close 51 of the shops.
Industry groups are uneasy. The Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry has cautioned that it would be difficult to comply as many of the schools are located adjoining the congested markets serving the common people. Other states also are taking action. Recently, Karnataka state government directed to prohibit sale/company of such food in schools and in a radius of 50 metres. An editorial in Tamil Nadu daily DT Next warned that the move might get washed away, as previous bans on liquor outlets in the vicinity of schools did, without the support of enforcement, awareness campaigns and labelling.
