Ultra processed food shortens life

Govt to train street food vendors

The food lovers of the city on Monday relished on variety of street food that was served on their platter as part of the three-day street food festival organised by Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC).

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, State Urban Development Minister CP Singh said the urban development department will soon issue a directive to start training to all street food vendors across State. In first phase training will be imparted in Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur to the vendors during the street festival and soon similar training will be undertaken at different urban local bodies.

Director Municipal Administration , Ashish Singhmar said that directive has been issued to all the 44 urban local bodies (ULBs) for providing training on food hygiene to the street food vendors.

“On the sidelines of the festival training is being imparted in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Deogarh and Dhanbad. However, in those civic bodies does not hosting street food festival, training on food hygiene will be provided by the ULBs to the vendors with help from district health department,” said Singhmar.

The urban development minister also said that government plans to provide identity cards to street vendors, around 16,000 identity cards have already been distributed. Plan is to accommodate the vendors in market complex in all the urban local bodies to avoid traffic congestion and provide a decent place for the vendors to eke out a living and avoid being harassed by administration over street encroachment.

The street food festival inaugural function was also addressed by state food and civil supplies minister and Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Roy who spoke on benefits of Government housing schemes.

The food festival witnessed 74 stalls – 40 food vendors, 20 exhibits by women self help groups and 14 exhibits by skill training institutions.

On the occasion of the inauguration Amit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, East Singhbhum, said that the basic concept of the festival is multi-dimensional. People living in cities can get better basic facilities. Through this forum, the idea is to promote the art, culture of the region and also to promote street vendors .

The event was held at a greater scale last year with the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Ministry of Tourism co-organising it. Started with a mere two-three States, it has grown over 26 States and 500 regional cuisines.

The food festival had visitors from all age groups, especially youngsters. There were several vendors who made their debut, while some had participated earlier as well.

Cut down on trans fats: ExpertFood authority launches drive to create awareness on issue

Ludhiana, February 17Since the number of people falling prey to heart attacks and stroke are increasing, the government has woken up to the health issue.

Not only urban but even the rural folks are now increasingly suffering heart attacks and brain strokes.Keeping in mind the rise in these diseases, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has launched a campaign for creating awareness about consequence of trans fats.

The FSSAI has even set a target of eliminating trans fat in India by 2022, a year ahead of the global target set by the WHO for complete elimination of trans fats.

So, the next time you pick a packet of chips or muffins from a bakery counter just recall that even the government is now asking you to stop buying these and eliminate these from your diet.

Dr Avinash Jindal, medicine specialist at the Civil Hospital, said at present, it is not only the urban population but even the rural residents are falling prey to lifestyle diseases.

“They have high cholesterol, high BP, high levels of sugars and are more number of people falling prey to heart attack, obesity, diabetes and stroke. The gap between the lifestyle of urban and rural people is decreasing. These days I receive patients who are suffering from these ailments and are from rural background. As much as 50 per cent patients we receive are from rural areas,” said Dr Jindal.

Akashdeep, a cardiologist from the city, said people needed to change their food habits if they wanted to remain healthy.

“Return to the basics should be the mantra. Eat less processed food and you will remain healthy. Regular and excessive consumption of foods high in salt and sugar should be avoided and moderation should be the key. An average Indian consumes 10 gram of salt per day, which is double the amount of salt recommended,” he added

Currently, the permitted levels of trans fats in vegetables oils and hydrogenated vegetable oils is five per cent and the FSSAI wants to bring it down to two per cent by 2022.