No More Junk Food in Schools

It is a bad news for those school students who love junk food and aerated drinks instead of nutritious healthy foods. Awaken to the enormity of the problem of obesity especially among school students across the country; the Union Government is preparing guidelines to take junk food out of the school education across the country. By the end of July this year, school students will not have junk food outlets within 500 yards in any direction. The draft guidelines on regulating sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and around school premises would be ready by July, stated an official of the government. A private firm AC Nielsen ORG-MARG Private Limited has been hired in the process of framing norms to regulate availability of junk food and carbonated drinks within 500 years of school.

The guidelines will define what food is healthy and what is not. Most of the schools are welcoming the proposed move. Teacher’s community is all up for banning junk food in school premises. Doctors opined that it would be a welcome step if junk food is totally banned in schools. A renowned orthopedics said, “It is a forward looking step but beginning should be made from home.” School students should be made aware about the harmful impact of junk food on them, both physically and mentally, he added. “We all should welcome this step and help the authorities in its implementation for a healthy nation in the years to come, said Dr. Raj Bahadur, a renowned orthopedics in Chandigarh. In January last year, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had given six months to frame guidelines on banning sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and around education institutions. Such a ban will set new standards for healthy food. It is observed in different studies that people in the age group of 16-30 are 5.47% underweight; 50% are having normal weight and 42.42% are obese. Reports also observe that people with sedentary jobs are more prone to overweight and obese than who worked in field because in sedentary jobs energy burn is less as compared to food intake.

Himachal Ranks Eighth in Male Obesity

Obesity has reached epidemic proportion in the 21st century. It needs a long-term strategy for prevention and management. Punjab tops the list of obesity cases both in male and female in the country. Punjab has 30.3% male and 37.5% female suffering from obesity. Himachal has also registered an increase in obesity cases. It ranks 8th in the matter of male obesity cases with 16% and 12th in female obesity (19. 5%) in the country compared. Haryana ranks 11th in male obesity with 14.4% and 6th in female obesity cases with 17.7%. Advent of information technology in our life resulted steep decrease in regular physical activities and caused progressive increase in obesity. An individual problem now has become a population problem.

What is Junk Food?

It has poor nutritional value and is considered as unhealthy. It is high in fat, sodium, or sugar content. It has little enzyme producing vitamins and minerals and contains high level of calories. It is responsible for obesity, dental cavities, type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.

Health Hazards

* Junk foods contain very high number of calories from sugar or fat with little protein, vitamins or minerals

* Junk foods are high in sodium, which can contribute to high blood pressure or hypertension

* Researches suggest that junk foods increase your risk for weigh gain, obesity and development of type 2 diabetes

* Raises cholesterol levels which further increase the risk of heart attacks

* Trans-fat abundant in junk foods is considered as the most harmful type of fat because it not only increases the ‘bad cholesterol low density lipoprotein levels but also reduces the good cholesterol with high density lipoprotein levels

Small restaurants serving big calories, salt

A average restaurant meal contains 58 grams of fat; which is 89per cent of a person’s recommended daily intake.

According to researchers from the University of Toronto, who examined the calorie, sodium, fat and cholesterol levels of 685 meals and 156 desserts from 19 sit-down restaurants around Canada, the average meal also contains 1,128 calories.

The Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture recommends consuming 2,000 calories per day. Just one restaurant meal likely contains more than half this daily intake. The researchers found that an average restaurant meal contains 151per cent of the recommended amount of sodium an adult should consume in a single day, 83per cent of the daily saturated and trans fats, and 60per cent of the daily value for cholesterol.

And even salads aren’t safe.

Mary Scourboutakos, a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, and author on the study told MailOnline: ‘It’s important to note that all meal categories had a wide range of calories, so even within the lowest ranking category, which was salads (on average containing 657 calories), there were still some salads that contained up to 1,370 calories.’

‘Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that calorie, fat, saturated fat, and sodium levels are alarmingly high in breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals from restaurants.’ The restaurant industry is currently preparing an implementation of new rules that requires fast food chains with more than 20 locations to post calorie content information on all meals. However the study’s results suggest that it would be beneficial for all restaurants to display nutritional information of their products.

‘Addressing the nutritional profile of restaurant meals should be a major public health priority,’ the researchers explained. Ms Scourboutakos said there are a few high calorie ingredients to be weary of when ordering a meal from any restaurant. ‘When ordering a salad, watch out for non-vegetable ingredients such as croutons, bacon bits and cheese, and always ask for the dressing on the side, so you can control how much is added,’ she said.

‘When ordering a pasta meal, avoid cream sauces and don’t eat too much garlic bread; and when ordering a meat entree, be sure to choose a vegetable based side dish, such as a salad or mixed vegetables.’

As a rule of thumb, Scourboutakos recommends avoiding anything that’s fried, and advises consumers to save half of the entree for your next meal if the portion size is large. ‘Lastly, avoid caloric beverages, appetizers and desserts,’ she said. 

Inspect closed water units: green tribunal

The Hindu Of 121 packaged water units in and around the city, only 23 had the TNPCB’s consent

The packaging plants will remain shut until samples are tested and cleared
The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Friday, directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the Commissionerate of Food Safety and Drug Administration to inspect the 92 packaged drinking water units that were closed recently.
It has asked them to submit a report on May 27 after analysing water samples obtained from these units that are located in and around the city. Until then, the units should remain closed.
On March 5, the Tribunal Bench, comprising Justice M. Chockalingam and Prof. R. Nagendran, took note of an article in The Hindu revealing pollution and contamination in water packaged by some of these units. When served with a notice, authorities, including the TNPCB, filed replies.
It came to light that there were 121 packaged water units functioning in and around the city and, of them, only 23 had obtained valid consent from the TNPCB. Based on a direction from the tribunal, the TNPCB served closure orders on 92 units.
S. Balaji, TNPCB member-secretary, appeared on Friday before the Bench and filed an action-taken report stating electricity supply to 78 of these units had been disconnected. Power supply to the remaining units too would be discontinued shortly.
Taking up five applications filed by individual units and the South India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association, Justice Chockalingam and Prof. Nagendran said, “We are not against closure of water packaging industries completely. Our only concern is that procedures and norms must be followed while processing the water.”
Prof. Nagendran said, “We are making the TNPCB follow the norms. Water packaging should be done as per standard procedures.”
The counsel representing the units said the packaged water they had been supplying until now met the required quality norms. There was no illegality or violation of any procedure. They sought a stay on the closure orders.
S. Saravanan, TNPCB’s counsel, said the closure orders should continue until the quality of water supplied by the units was certified.

Green panel asks PCB to conduct water purity tests

CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal on Friday ordered the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board And Commissionerate of Food Safety and Drugs department to conduct sample tests in all 92 private packaged drinking water units in and around Chennai. The units are being operated without valid licences from statutory authorities for several years. 

The bench, comprising Justice M Chokkalingam and R Nagendran, passed the interim order on petitions filed by the South India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers' Association and others against the orders served by the pollution control board to close the units and disconnect power supply. 

"We are not against packaged drinking water industry. If there is a procedure, why can't you follow," the bench observed. When the counsels representing for units said the central ground water authority's clearance, a statutory order for extraction of groundwater for commercial use, could not be obtained since Tamil Nadu Groundwater Extraction Act 2003 was yet to be notified, the bench observed: "So will you be continuing for a century without licence." 

In its action taken report, the member secretary, pollution control board said there were 124 packaged drinking water units in and around Chennai. Of this, only 24 units have got consent orders to operate. In all, 92 units were served with closure orders and disconnection of power supply orders. Against this, electricity board has disconnected power supply to 78 units.

The toxic truth about ripe mangoes

Bring all illegal water units under scanner, says NGT

Bring all illegal water units under scanner, says NGT

A water purifying plant at Seith Nagar, in Egmore, which was shut down by the Green Tribunal, in Chennai on Friday
Making it clear that it was not against industries and was only concerned about the implementation of environmental laws, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), on Friday ordered an inspection of all packaged drinking water units operating without consent in and around Chennai to ascertain if the quality of water sold was as per regulations.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) would inspect the 92 units and forward the water samples to the Commissionerate of Food Safety and Drug Administration (CFSDA), which would then analyse the samples for potability and submit a correlative report to the tribunal by May 27. Till then, the units would have to remain closed.
The violations of the companies came to light after the tribunal took cognisance of media reports on the issue. The TNPCB then submitted before the bench in the previous hearings that only 23 of the 121 water-packaging units in and around Chennai had valid consents.
The others were then closed following intervention of the tribunal.
When the matter came up before the southern bench comprising Judicial Member M Chockalingam and expert member Professor R Nagendran on Friday, a few more companies moved applications challenging the closure orders issued by the TNPCB and urged for an interim stay on the orders.
The companies, as well as the South India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association, contended that the packaging units were not polluting companies and therefore did not fall under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act invoked by the TNPCB to issue the closure orders.
Also, the companies argued that some of them did apply for consent to operate. But, this was denied by the Board citing the absence of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for groundwater extraction from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
“The fact is, the CGWA does not provide the NOC as the Madras High Court has banned extraction of groundwater for commercial purposes in the State till the Tamil Nadu Groundwater Management Act is notified. This has not happened,” argued the counsel for the companies and added that some of them have even been denied issuance of the applications for obtaining the consent.
However, counsel for the TNPCB, S Saravanan, contended that water purifying units employed the Reverse Osmosis (RO) mechanism.
The ‘rejects’ from the RO plants constituted effluents and, therefore, the board was well within its rights to invoke the provisions of the Water Act.
Further, the companies themselves had agreed at that time that they were operating all the while without valid consent from authorities, which was a clear violation of the law.
Passing orders, the bench said the “first and foremost thing” would be to ascertain quality of water supplied by the units that do not have valid consents.
Therefore, it directed the TNPCB to inspect the drinking water packaging units and place samples before the CFSDA for carrying out qualitative analysis to ascertain potability of water.

Green panel orders water purity tests in packaging units

 

Chennai: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal on Friday ordered the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the food safety and drugs department toconductsampletestsin private packaged drinking water unitsin and aroundChennai, that were being operated without valid licences from statutory bodiesfor years. In its submission to the tribunal on Friday, the pollution control board said out of 121 packaged drinking water units operating in and around Chennai, only 23 unit shave consent to operate. 

The bench, comprising Justice M Chokkalingam and technical member Prof R Nagendran, passed the interim orders on Friday, on the petitions filed by the South India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association and others, seeking relief from the PCB’s closure orders. When one of the counsels representing the units said they were extracting water from borewells in their own premises, the bench observed, “We have a borewell,so can we sell it?” 

The panel went on to add, “Had we not taken up the issue, you would have carried on the business for a century (without obtaining licences).” Earlier, additional commissioner of food safety department, B Vasakumar, summoned by the bench,said the facilities available in the King Institute’s lab could test only 15 samples a week and it would take more than six weeks for the 90 samples to get tested. 

The packaged drinking water manufacturers could not obtain statutory clearances from PCB or central ground water authority, since the Madras high court had, in February 2011, ordered the state government not to allow extraction of groundwater for commercial purposes till the Tamil Nadu Groundwater (Development and Management) Act2003 is notified. 

When the PCB’s counsel argued that without certification on the quality of the water supplied by the units, the closure order should not be vacated, the bench ordered the packaged drinking water units to obtain applications for consent to operate from the board, and the latter to make necessary inspection of those units. 

It ordered the food safety department to carry out qualitative analysis for water potability and for the PCB and food safety departments to submit a report on May27.

Dinathanthi & Dinakaran

92 நிறுவனங்களின் குடிநீரை ஆய்வு செய்ய வேண்டும் ; தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயம் உத்தரவு

சென்னை : சென்னை மற்றும் அதனை சுற்றியுள்ள பகுதிகளில்உள்ள, 92 குடிநீர் தயாரிப்பு நிறுவனங்கள் தயாரிக்கும் குடிநீரை ஆய்வு செய்ய தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயம் (சென்னை மண்டலம்) உத்தரவு பிறப்பித்துள்ளது.

சென்னையில் அனுமதியின்றி இயங்கி வரும் குடிநீர் தயாரிப்பு நிறுவனங்கள் தொடர்பான வழக்கில், தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயத்தில் நேற்று விசாரணை நடந்தது. மேலும், ஏற்கனவே, மாசுக் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரியத்திற்கு எதிராக தென்னிந்திய குடிநீர் தயாரிப்பாளர்கள் சங்கத்தினர் தாக்கல் செய்த மனு மற்றும், சென்னையில் உள்ள "சண்முகா அக்வா இன்டஸ்ட்ரீஸ், வாசு வாட்டர் சொல்யூசன்ஸ்' உள்ளிட்ட, ஐந்து நிறுவனங்கள் தாக்கல் செய்த மனுக்கள் மீதான விசாரணையும் நடந்தது.

விசாரணையில் நேரில் ஆஜரான, மாசுக் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரிய உறுப்பினர் செயலர் பாலாஜி கூறியதாவது: இதுவரை, மாசுக் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரிய அனுமதி பெறாத, 98 நிறுவனங்களில், 92 நிறுவனங்களை மூட உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது; ஆறு நிறுவனங்கள் தாமாக முன் வந்து மூடி விட்டன. 92 நிறுவனங்களில், 78 நிறுவனங்களுக்கு மின் இணைப்பு துண்டிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது; மற்ற நிறுவனங்களின் மின் இணைப்பை துண்டிக்கும் பணி நடந்து வருகிறது. மேலும், 92 நிறுவனங்களில், சில நிறுவனங்கள் மட்டுமே, அனுமதிக்கான விண்ணப்பங்களை அளித்துள்ளன. அனுமதி அளிக்க வேண்டும் என்றால், அந்த நிறுவனங்கள் தயாரிக்கும் குடிநீரை மாதிரி எடுத்து ஆய்வு செய்வது அவசியம். இதற்கான பரிசோதனை மையம் உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் மருந்து துறையிடம் உள்ளது.இவ்வாறு, அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

இதையடுத்து, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் மருந்து துறையின் கூடுதல் ஆணையர், டாக்டர் வாசகுமார் ஆஜரானார். அப்போது, பரிசோதனை மையத்தில், குடிநீர் மாதிரிகளை ஆய்வு செய்வது குறித்து ஆலோசிக்கப்பட்டது. பின்னர் தீர்ப்பாய நீதிபதி சொக்கலிங்கம், உறுப்பினர் பேராசிரியர் நாகேந்திரன் ஆகியோர் பிறப்பித்த உத்தரவு : மூடப்பட்ட, 92 குடிநீர் தயாரிப்பு நிறுவனங்கள், விதிமுறைகளை பூர்த்தி செய்து, அனுமதிக்காக, மாசுக் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரியத்திற்கு விண்ணப்பிக்க வேண்டும். அவை, விதிமுறைகளை பூர்த்தி செய்துள்ளனவா என்பதை வாரியம் ஆய்வு செய்ய வேண்டும்.

மாவட்ட சுற்றுச்சூழல் பொறியாளர் உள்ளிட்ட மாசுக்கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரிய அதிகாரிகள், சம்பந்தப்பட்ட நிறுவனங்களின் குடிநீர் மாதிரியை சேகரித்து, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் மருந்து துறையிடம் ஒப்படைக்க வேண்டும். பரிசோதனை மையத்தில், அவற்றை ஆய்வு செய்ய வேண்டும். பிறகு, மாசுக் கட்டுப்பாட்டு வாரியமும், உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் மருந்து துறையும் தங்களின் ஆய்வறிக்கைகளை, வரும், 27 ம் தேதி, தீர்ப்பாயத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்ய வேண்டும்.

ஆய்வு செய்யும் மாதிரிகளை, வழக்கு முடியும் வரை, உணவு பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் மருந்து துறை தங்கள் வசம் வைத்திருக்க வேண்டும். இவ்வாறு, உத்தரவில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. இந்த வழக்கு விசாரணை வரும், 27ம் தேதிக்கு ஒத்தி வைக்கப்பட்டது