Paradoxically, the women and child development minister’s official plea before some of her concerned cabinet colleagues from ministries of health, education and HRD for action against consumption of high-fat ‘junk’ food and fizzy drinks by school children came on the day when the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) had reportedly sought intervention of the prime minister’s office to help stop Maggie-like controversies that may impact fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) in the food processing sector in the country. It appears that the government itself is divided on the issue of production, sale and consumption of processed foods, including fast food and sweet drinks. Logically, the sale of popular ‘mithai’ products, which are hardly healthy, too needs to be restricted, if not banned altogether. Indians – from children to grandparents – are almost pathologically attached to sweetmeats of all sorts. Sweets are part of almost every Indian celebration, including political victories.

However, it must be admitted that there is nothing emotional about Ms Maneka Gandhi’s letter to her cabinet colleagues raising a debate on the need for banning junk food sale and consumption within school premises and around such institutions. She has merely gone by the recommendations of a high-powered working group, constituted by her ministry, on ‘consumption of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) and promotion of healthy snacks in schools in India’ to combat childhood obesity, non-communicable diseases during early adulthood, including a range of chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and dyslipidemia. The country is facing a major burden of malnutrition and undernutrition among children as well as excess intake of calories by a section of children causing overweight and obesity.

The terms of reference of the working group covered a whole lot of areas – from definition of junk foods to guidelines for adaptation by state governments/ union territories on sale of junk foods in school canteens or in the vicinity of schools by private vendors and guidelines for use by print and electronic media and advertising agencies on promotion and marketing of junk foods. National Institute of Nutrition director T Longvah was group’s chairperson.

Among others, the working group recommended the ban of all HFSS foods in school canteens and private vendors and street vendors should not be allowed to sale such foods during school timings – from 7 AM to 4 PM – within vicinity of 200 meters. And, the school management must promote healthy, wholesome and nutritious foods with right portion size. Foods to be prohibited in school canteens include fried foods such as fried potatoes and chips; sherbets, ice golas, sweetened carbonated and non carbonated beverages; rosogullas, gulabjamuns, peda, kalakand, jalebi, boondi, Imarti, etcetra; ready-to-eat noodles, burgers, pizzas, tikka and gol gappas; chewing gums and candies; cholates and all confectionary items; and cakes, biscuits, buns, pastries, jams and jellies. It also recommended restricted sale — for instance, once a month – of non-standardised or proprietary foods such as “Samosa, pakora, bread pakoda, tikki, etc.” with proper display of nutrients and after making them more nutritious.

The working group wants a school canteen of any type – primary, secondary, day care and boarding – for even such as class parties, school camps, school fetes, sporting carnivals and, picnics, social events like annual functions should provide nutritious, wholesome and healthy foods to children. The purpose of making these school canteen guidelines are to encourage the development of healthy eating habits among school children; provide a wide range of options for healthy and nutritious food and berverages in schools and enhance the intake of nutritious and well balanced diet among students. The ideas are lofty, if not utopian altogether. The bureaucrats and veteran members in the working group probably have little knowledge of the modern society where parents and guardians of most children are working couples, who use professional caterers and fast food joints for even small domestic parties such as birthdays and anniversaries. Given the modern day living pressures and conditions, few would opt for implementation of such grand guidelines for food and drinks for school children.

In fact, the administration is facing a serious problem to run the free mid-day meal scheme for poor children up to junior school standards, even 20 years after it was first launched by the Narasimha Rao government. The scheme has created more corruption and controversies than any other social support programmes in the country. The whole project is under review. The scheme failed to inculcate proper education among poor and hungry children, who are sent to schools more for mid-day meals and uniforms than real study. All that it may have achieved is to feed 120 million poor children across the country daily. The programme is rife with corruption. It frequently endangers and lets down the vulnerable population it seeks to serve. The news of contaminated or poor quality mid-day meals killing hordes of children is common every year. The situation is worse in remote villages and locations, where children are most in need of a nutritious meal.

If the present government is rethinking on the mid-day meal programme for the famished and undernourished junior school children because of the way it is being misused or delivered, why is it out to underline a food-habit changing programme for those less-controllable richer students in schools to ensure their balanced nutrition? Instead, the government and the school management would do well by educating parents on preferable diets to their children and, maybe, control the latter’s daily pocket money to restrict their daily expenses on junk food and beverages. (IPA Service)