GURGAON: When the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) proposed guidelines to restrict sale or availability of food high in fat, salt or sugar within 50m of a school's premises on October 16, Gurgaon schools welcomed the move. But a few days down the line, most schools feel a ban is not the solution for the 'junk food' problem. Rather, they say it might tempt kids more towards junk food options. Besides, some felt such an order would make crafting a menu suitable for international students more difficult.
Schools also feel there is confusion over what constitutes 'junk food'. For instance, most 'Indian' items on the menu have a very high fat content, automatically qualifying them as junk. "The problems with the definition of junk food is - if we ban chips but allow aloo bhaji, a very common tiffin item - the purpose is defeated," said Rupa Chakravarty, principal, Suncity School.
Several city schools have a good percentage of immigrant students, whose food choices are completely different from that of the average north Indian child. "For Korean kids, noodles is a staple. We have many Korean, Japanese and Chinese students in our school. Restricting noodles or pasta as junk is completely unfeasible," said Sudha Goyal, principal, Scottish High School.
FSSAI's guidelines on banning junk food - burgers, chips, aerated drinks, ramen noodles, pizzas, burgers and sweetened drinks - in and around schools were meant to promote healthy eating in schools. "We serve wheat bread burgers in our canteen with a soy patty. How does that qualify as junk?" said principal Aditi Misra of DPS, Sector 45, adding that the idea of eating healthy extends beyond schools. "It's alright to let a kid enjoy once a while. A ban will only tempt them more," she said.
Students feel while schools should have a healthy menu, they need the freedom to pick their food.
"While we are served chips and burgers in school, it's only once in a while. I don't want that taken away. The school already restricts such items to once a week/fortnight," said Deveshi Malhotra, Class VIII, Scottish High.
"Students, as well as parents, need to be educated about the benefits of healthy eating, so they can make an informed choice rather than blindly banishing certain items," said Shalini Nambiar, principal, Gems International School.
Many big city schools have kitchens and canteens of their own. Most do not serve aerated drinks, but chips and burgers are sometimes available.
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