Baijayant seeks voluntary health warning on Junk Food Ads

ONI Bureau: Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda raised the issue of TV Ads about junk foods in Lok Sabha, saying they must be regulated to ensure children and parents know about the potential danger.

Citing the high level malnutrition situation in the country (40% of total children and 25% in urban areas), Baijayant Panda attributed it to not just shortage of food, but to bad or junk food too, which contain high amount of salt or sugar.

While seeking a law on the lines of tobacco to control the junk food menace, he requested Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to ensure the junk food companies give a ‘voluntary health warning’ in the TV Ads so that children are not mislead.

Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore did not say anything on Baijayant’s demand for a ‘voluntary health warning’ on Junk Food Ads on TV, but said the Food & Safety Standards Act already has a penalty provision of Rs 10 lakhs for misleading and deceptive ads. And, FSSAI & Health Ministry are considering a proposal to insert the amount of salt and sugar in the food on the labels of packets.