AA Edit | Curb Sale Of Unhealthy Food

The Supreme Court’s direction to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to implement front-of-package labelling (FOPL), a standard adopted internationally, on pre-packaged food products is a step in the right direction.

If FSSAI does not act within two weeks, the apex court said it will pass necessary orders mandating FOPL. This might bring two-year-long litigation on the issue to a conclusion. The Central government has not been forthcoming in implementing FOPL in the country because traditional Indian foods tend to contain excessive amounts of sugar, salt and oil.

Though the Supreme Court is right in its stand, the government’s hesitation is also understandable, especially after the flak it received two years ago for classifying samosa and jalebi as unhealthy through the oil and sugar board initiative by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), which was intended to help people make informed decisions.

However, the government cannot escape its obligation to guide people in making the right choices merely because doing so could affect its electoral prospects. This issue assumes greater urgency because nearly 80 per cent of these packaged food products are available in the vicinity of schools, and up to 10 per cent of school-age children are overweight.

The NIN initiative caused an uproar because the installation of oil and sugar boards was mandatory at all institutions and could have affected the livelihoods of lakhs of informal food vendors. The issue relating to pre-packaged foods is slightly different because consumers of these products largely come from the upper-middle and affluent classes.

After implementing the court’s order, the government must engage with food experts and vendors to reinvent traditional cuisines to make them suitable for people with sedentary lifestyles. A gradual shift is acceptable, but inaction over dangerous food consumption is not expected of a responsible government.