FSSAI regulation for fast food ads near schools likely to move brands to digital campaigns

Experts say the draft regulation by Food Safety & Standards Authority of India urging fast food brands to abstain from advertising near schools will lead to a shift from OOH to social media campaigns

In a bid to keep children away from junk food, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently issued a draft regulation urging fast food brands to abstain from advertising within 50 meters of schools. While the move is in line with imparting healthy eating habits among school kids, this is most likely to spur changes in the advertising strategy among fast food brands.

The FSSAI draft notification says: “School Authority shall ensure that no person shall offer or expose for sale of pre-packaged foods which are referred to as foods high in fat, salt and sugar as per the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and display) Regulations, 2019 to school children in school canteens/ mess premises/ hostel kitchens or within 50 meters of the school campus.”

For fast food brands, close to 20 to 25 per cent of their total OOH property is placed in front of schools, colleges and other places that are frequented by youngsters aged between 7 and 21.

Now, as per the FSSAI notification applicable for school campuses, the fast food players will stick to OOH outside colleges and other institutions but move the entire chunk of OOH from outside schools to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Most of the brands have now decided to take their campaigns online.

“It is outside the schools where we reach our most important clientele - the youngsters. But then we cannot go against FSSAI, so we will take all campaign online on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and others. These platforms are already important for us but with FSSAI’s order this will become even more vital as they will be the only places where we can grab our Target Group’s maximum attention,” said the founder of a leading milkshake chain on the condition of anonymity.

Charanjeet Singh Arora, CEO, Kinetic India, says, “Since FSSAI has proposed to restrict the sale and advertisement of food products in school premises and within 50 meters of the school campus, brands can now try to invest on bus shelters or on the way to schools to grab the attention of the target audience.”

It remains to be now seen what innovations and strategy changes emerge from the players in this sector.

Gujarat government to ban sale of junk food in and around schools

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recommended a ban on sale of food high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) in schools and the state government is in the process of framing draft rules for the same.

Gujarat government to ban sale of junk food in and around schools. 

The Gujarat government is in the process of banning sale of junk food in schools as well as in the 50-meter area around them to encourage consumption of healthy food among children.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recommended a ban on sale of food high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) in schools and the state government is in the process of framing draft rules for the same.

To promote healthy food eating habits among children, a ban has to be imposed on sale of food with high fat, sugar and salt in school canteens as well as in the 50-meter area around schools.

“That means junk food items cannot be sold in and around schools of the state, Commissioner of Food Safety and Food and Drug Control Administration H G Koshia said.

Advertisements of junk food will also not be allowed in and around schools, he said, adding that FSSAI, India’s regulator for the food industry, has recommended a ban on sale of junk food in schools.

The step has been taken to promote eating of healthy food from childhood so that the problems like obesity and diseases caused by consumption of junk food can be controlled, Koshia said.

The draft rules will be circulated among stake-holders like schools, food business operators and others and their opinion will be sought before implementing the ban, officials said.

The FSSAI has formed draft regulations titled ‘Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019’.

Officials raid shop, seize pan masala containing tobacco sachets

Dehradun: A local shop was raided in Doiwala on Wednesday where a joint team of the Food and Drugs department and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized several sachets of ‘pan masala’.

Officials suspect that the seized samples of pan masala may have high nicotine and tobacco content, and hence sent the samples to a laboratory for testing.

In October, the state government had banned the sale and distribution of tobacco sachets, which are sold along with pan masala packets. “Though pan masala comes under edible category, but the product shouldn’t have nicotine and other harmful chemicals. We have raided a store in Doiwala who is the distributor of pan masala. We have sent the samples for testing at laboratory,” food safety officer, FDA, Dehradun, Yogendra Pandey, told TOI.

An FDA official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the ingredients were not clearly mentioned in the product, but they suspect that the items may have some harmful contents like tobacco or nicotine.

Food safety officer Pandey said DM C Ravishankar had conducted a meeting of FSSAI and FDA and ordered them to conduct raids at shops and collect samples of pan masala to verify its content.