Guidance Note on Traditional Milk Products

Govt mulls ban on advertising unhealthy food in & around schools

NEW DELHI: In a move to ensure healthy eating among school children, the food regulator has come up with draft regulations proposing a ban on sale as well as advertisement and promotion of unhealthy food — high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) — in school premises and within 50 meters of the school campus.

The draft regulation titled - ‘Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019’ – also listed several measures for monitoring and surveillance of the quality of food sold, and supplied to school children.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought public comments on the draft by December, after which it would be finalised for implementation.

“Food business operators manufacturing HFSS food products shall not advertise or offer for free sale of such foods to children in school premises or within 50 meters of the School campus,” the draft regulations said.

The proposal also contains guidelines for providing safe and wholesome food to school children. This includes guidance on selection of foods. For instance, it suggests 75-80% of the foods should be cereals, pulses, milk products, eggs, fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts etc. It also advises discouraging availability of HFSS foods such as deep fried foods like french fries, fried chips, samosa, chola bhatura, gulab jamun etc., sugar sweetened carbonated or non-carbonated beverages, ready to eat food, noodles, pizzas, burgers, confectionery items, sugar and sugar based products etc.

In June this year, FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal had announced that the regulator has proposed banning advertisements of unhealthy food in and around school. However, the notification of the draft norms were pending with the health ministry for approval.

The school authority itself or food business operators (FBOs) contracted by it and FBOs contracted by Department of School Education for operation of the mid-day meal scheme will have to “obtain a registration or license” as applicable and comply with the requirements of sanitary and hygienic practices specified under the food safety law, the draft says.

The FSSAI has proposed that school authorities will have to adopt a comprehensive programme for promoting safe food and healthy diets among school children.

“Encourage school authorities to promote consumption of a safe and balanced diet in the school as per the guidelines issued by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN),” the draft regulation said.

It also prescribes regular inspection of premises to ensure that safe, healthy and hygienic food is served to students

The FSSAI proposes creation of a sub-committee by the state level advisory committee to monitor the implementation of regulations and to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food to school children.

“A healthy food make our kids feel better, grow better and learn better and right eating habits can be engrained in the children from a young age. At the heart of these regulations is a fundamental idea to make it clear what is healthy for children and what is not,” FSSAI said.

FSSSAI seeks to clamp down on junk food served in schools

• The FSSAI has proposed to restrict sale of foods high in fat, sugar and salt among school children
• It will also monitor how such foods are sold and marketed to school kids

New Delhi: To get school children to eat better, India’s food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has notified a draft regulation that aims to monitor the quality of food being served to children in schools. The FSSAI has proposed to restrict sale of foods high in fat, sugar and salt among school children and also monitor how such foods are sold and marketed to school kids.

In the draft regulation titled Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019, the regulator has listed several points to monitor the quality of food sold, and supplied to school children. As part of its move, the FSSAI--that falls under the ministry of health and family welfare--has invited suggestions and objections from stakeholders. "These regulations, after consideration of stakeholder comments and finalization, would be finalised for implementation," the FSSAI said in its press note detailing the draft notification. The aim is to ensure safe and wholesome food for school children.

Among other things, the FSSAI aims to restrict HFFS or highly fatty and salty foods “sold to school children in school canteens, mess premises, hostel kitchens or within 50 meters of the school campus." It has also sought to bar food business operators or FBOs manufacturing HFSS food products from selling or advertising their products to school children. “Food business operators manufacturing HFSS food products shall not advertise or offer for free sale of such foods to children in school premises or within 50 meters of the School campus."

Further, it has laid down strict guidelines on how FBOs can market their products to children: “when marketing foods to children, FBOs shall depict and package or serve food in reasonable portion sizes and not encourage overeating directly or indirectly." It has directed food operators to "develop new products that help children eat healthy, especially with regard to nutrient density, energy density, and portion size. FBOs shall support healthy eating in schools and not market, sell, or give away low-nutrition foods or brands anywhere on school campuses."

It has also made it harder for such food operators to market and distribute samples of such foods through logos, brand names, spokes-characters, product names, or other product marketing on vending machines; books, curricula, and other educational materials; school supplies; posters; etc.

The FSSAI has urged regular inspection of school premises to ensure that safe, healthy and hygienic food is served to students. It has also sought that "FBOs supplying prepared meals in the premises are on the basis of general guidance provided in the regulation and as per the direction issued by the Food Authority or the Commissioners of Food safety."

Ban proposed on sale, ads of junk food in school

FSSAI releases draft regulations

Aimed at enabling children to eat and grow healthy, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday released draft regulations titled Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019.

“At the heart of these regulations is a fundamental idea to make it clear what is healthy for children and what is not,’’ said a senior FSSAI official.

One of the important regulations proposed is that foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) cannot be sold to children in school canteens/mess premises/hostel kitchens or within 50 m of the school campus.

Schools should adopt a comprehensive programme for promoting healthy diets among children. The school campus should be converted into ‘Eat Right School’ focussing on local and seasonal food and no food waste as per the specified benchmarks.

According to studies, about 8% of schoolchildren are obese. FSSAI has also proposed that children have to be encouraged to consume balanced diet in the school as per the guidelines issued by the National Institute of Nutrition. “Nutritionists, dieticians may be engaged by the school to assist in the preparation of menu periodically. Also it has been proposed that there should be regular inspection of school premises where safe, healthy and hygienic food should be served to students,’’ noted FSSAI.

The FSSAI has invited suggestions and objections from stakeholders within 30 days.

No Junk Food in Schools! FSSAI releases 10 point charter for food sold, supplied or advertised to school kids

Taking a step towards promoting healthy eating habits, FSSAI has released a 10 point charter that bans sale, supply or advertisement of junk food in and around school premises. All you need to know!

No colas, chips or un-healthy food in school canteens: FSSAI

Come December, junk food – colas, chips and even instant noodles may be banned from the schools and vendors close to schools. In an attempt to promote Eat Right and healthy eating habits in young kids, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, FSSAI has released a draft regulation. The draft titles Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019 is a 10 point charter that prohibits sale and even promotion of unhealthy food items in schools and near by schools.

The complete list of proposed changes and recommendations are listed below. Apart from banning junk food in schools, FSSAI has asked schools to ‘adopt a comprehensive program for promoting Safe food’. The 10 pointer also recommends banning all ‘foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) in school canteens/ mess premises/ hostel kitchens or within 50 meters of the school campus’.

The Ten-point Charter of this regulation as released by FSSAI on November 4, 2019 is listed below.

• Schools, FBOs contracted by School Authority for selling or catering school meals and FBOs contracted by Department of School Education for operation of the Mid-Day Meal scheme would be required to obtain a registration or licence that complies with the mandated sanitary and hygiene requirements under schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) regulations, 2011.
• Blanket ban on selling on foods high in fat, salt and sugar or HFSS (includes junk foods like colas, chips, instant noodles and other packed foods) in schools or to school children inside school canteens/ mess premises/ hostel kitchens or within 50 meters of the school campus.
• Adopting a comprehensive program to encourage healthy eating habits and Safe food and Healthy diets amongst school children. The draft also proposes converting school campuses into ‘Eat Right School’ which focusses on safe, local, seasonal foods and emphasize on no food wastage.
• Schools to be encourages to promote consumption of a balanced diet in schools as per National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) guidelines.
• Schools would also be required to check that the vendors supplying prepared means are doing so basis the general guidelines set by FSSA or the Commissioners of Food safety.
• Schools to periodically engage nutritionists, dieticians to assist in the preparation of menu for the children.
• HFSS foods are also barred from advertising such products to school children within school premises or 50 meters from school campus.
• Ban on support or marketing (including through logos, brand names, posters, textbook covers etc) or giving away free samples of foods which are low in nutrition anywhere on school campus.
• FSSAI also proposed regular inspection of premises to ensure safe, healthy and hygienic food is being served to students.
• A sub-committee is proposed to be created by the State Level Advisory Committee to monitor the implementation of the above said rules and regulations.

FSSAI has asked the stakeholders to review the draft and to provide suggestions within 30 days from the date of notification – that is by December 4. These regulations, the draft reads, would be finalized and implemented after that.

AHAR discusses illegal kitchens, licence, delivery commission rates with Zomato

Several issues, including delivery from illegally run kitchens to discounts offered for Zomato Gold members, were discussed at a meeting between the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) and Zomato officials on Tuesday.

AHAR president Santosh Shetty said there are problems of compliance with rules, which are yet to be solved by Zomato. “We have instructed the officials to service the restaurants which have a legal licence, and adhere to fire safety norms under Section 394 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act. According to our reports, there are many outlets listed on Zomato who have just the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India licence.”

The AHAR also suggested that Zomato request all its partner restaurants to display their MMC Act licence numbers against the restaurants’ names on its portal.

The issue of high delivery commission rates also found mention. “The delivery commission rates are very high on Zomato. The customer has to bear the brunt as the prices of items listed on its website go up. The AHAR also raised concerns on Zomato Gold delivery discounts. The association has asked the officials to abolish the offers as it is a loss-making proposition for restaurants,” Mr. Shetty said.

Another aspect discussed was the unavailability of delivery executives. “There were cases where Zomato’s website showed the restaurant could not deliver at a particular time but the truth is the food delivery company did not have a delivery boy at that time. We have asked Zomato to share the customer’s data with the restaurants, so that they can directly deliver the food in such cases,” the AHAR president said.

The association also raised issues over food aggregators who deliver food till early morning because these are places running without proper licences.

“Duplication of names of restaurants and brands on the platform has been a source of major problems for restaurants and customers. This leads to confusion and the non-branded restaurants are trying to take advantage of the reputation of the branded ones. The AHAR has requested Zomato to put up pictures of the restaurants, so that the customer gets food from the restaurants he wants,” Mr. Shetty said.