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Sustainable Food Systems

'जंक फूड पैकेट पर स्वास्थ्य संबंधी चेतावनी का हो उल्लेख', विशेषज्ञ बोले- लोगों को भ्रमित कर रही स्वास्थ्य संबंधी स्टार रेटिंग

विशेषज्ञों का कहना है कि सरकार को जंक फूड पैकेट पर चेतावनी का लेबल जारी करना चाहिए क्‍योंकि स्वास्थ्य संबंधी स्टार रेटिंग लोगों को भ्रमित कर रही है। यह आम उपभोक्ताओं को लाभ के बजाय नुकसान पहुंचा रही है। नई दिल्ली, पीटीआइ। जंक फूड के दुष्प्रभावों को लेकर जागरूकता के अभियान चलाए जाते रहते हैं। कभी इस संबंध में होने वाले शोधों के निष्कर्ष के आधार पर लोगों को आगाह करने की कोशिश की जाती है तो कभी सरकार की ओर से कुछ कानूनी प्रविधान किए जाते हैं ताकि लोग ऐसे पदार्थों के उपभोग करते समय लोग स्वास्थ्य संबंधी प्रभावों से वाकिफ रहें। इस क्रम में पदार्थों की स्टार रेटिंग से लेकर सचित्र चेतावनी तक प्रदर्शित की जाती है। अब विशेषज्ञों ने कहा है कि सरकार को जंक फूड पैकेट पर स्वास्थ्य संबंधी स्टार रेटिंग के बजाय चेतावनी लेबल जारी करना चाहिए। स्वास्थ्य संबंधी स्टार रेटिंग लोगों को भ्रमित कर रही है और उपभोक्ताओं को लाभ के बजाय नुकसान पहुंचा रही है। स्वास्थ्य संबंधी स्टार रेटिंग के तहत एक से पांच स्टार के पैमाने पर पैकेटबंद खाद्य पदार्थों को ग्रेड प्रदान किया जाता है। राजस्थान के निमली में आयोजित राष्ट्रीय सतत खाद्य प्रणाली सम्मेलन में लोक स्वास्थ्य विशेषज्ञों ने कहा कि अगर सरकार मोटापे व गैर-संचारी रोगों की महामारी को लेकर गंभीर है, तो उपभोक्ताओं को चेतावनी लेबल के जरिये जंक फूड के बारे में सावधान करने की जरूरत है। चीनी, वसा व सोडियम की अधिकता वाले खाद्य पदार्थों को जंक फूड कहा जाता है। सम्मलेन का आयोजन विज्ञान व पर्यावरण केंद्र (सीएसई) द्वारा किया गया था। सीएसई महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण ने कहा, 'शक्तिशाली खाद्य उद्योग द्वारा उपभोक्ताओं को भ्रमित करने के लिए स्वास्थ्य स्टार रेटिंग को डिजाइन किया गया है। इन्हें भारतीय खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक प्राधिकरण (एफएसएसएआइ) जंक फूड के महिमामंडन का लाइसेंस देगा। यह उसके विपरीत है, जो किया जाना चाहिए।' सम्मेलन में सीएसई की सतत खाद्य प्रणाली के कार्यक्रम निदेशक अमित खुराना, सीयूटीएस इंटरनेशनल राजस्थान के निदेशक जार्ज चेरियन, पब्लिक हेल्थ रिसोर्स नेटवर्क दिल्ली की सामुदायिक बाल रोग विशेषज्ञ वंदना प्रसाद व ग्लोबल हेल्थ एडवोकेसी इनक्यूबेटर इंडिया के प्रमुख सलाहकार संजय पांडे आदि ने प्रतिभाग किया। वर्ष 2013 में एफएसएसएआइ नीत एक समिति ने सबसे पहले पैकेट में बंद खाद्य पदाथरें पर फ्रंट-आफ-पैक लेबलिंग की सिफारिश की थी। सीएसई इस समिति में शामिल थी। एफएसएसएआइ वर्ष 2018 में प्रारूप नियम लेकर आया था, जो विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन की भारत व दक्षिण-पूर्व एशिया के लिए संस्तुत मानकों के अनुरूप था।

Sustainable Food Systems

विशेषज्ञों का सुझाव: जंक फूड पैकेज पर 'हेल्थ स्टार' रेटिंग नहीं, 'वार्निंग' लेबल की जरूरत, उपभोक्ताओं को किया सचेत

पैकेज्ड जंक फूड पर दी जाने वाली हेल्थ स्टार रेटिंग के प्रति देश के उपभोक्ताओं को सचेत किए जाने की जरूरत है। स्वास्थ्य विशेषज्ञों ने बुधवार को चेतावनी जारी करते हुए कहा कि भारतीय खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक प्राधिकरण (एफएसएसएआई) को इस तरह के उत्पादों पर स्वास्थ्य स्टार रेटिंग के बजाय चेतावनी लेबल जारी करना चाहिए, क्योंकि वे भ्रामक हैं और ग्राहकों को अच्छे से ज्यादा नुकसान पहुंचाने वाले साबित हो रहे हैं। खाद्य पदार्थों को ग्रेड करती है रेटिंग गौरतलब है कि हेल्थ स्टार रेटिंग एक लेबलिंग प्रणाली है, जो एक से पांच स्टार के पैमाने के आधार पर पैकेज्ड खाद्य पदार्थों को ग्रेड करती है। विशेषज्ञों ने कहा है कि अगर सरकार मोटापे और गैर-संचारी रोगों की महामारी के बारे में वाकई में गंभीर है, तो उपभोक्ता को चेतावनी लेबल के माध्यम से जंक फूड के बारे में सावधान करने की जरूरत है। ये स्वास्थ्य विशेषज्ञ राजस्थान के निमली में सेंटर फॉर साइंस द्वारा आयोजित नेशनल कॉन्क्लेव ऑन सस्टेनेबल फूड सिस्टम्स में पहुंचे थे। उपभोक्ताओं को करती है गुमराह सीएसई की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण ने इस कार्यक्रम का नेतृत्व करते हुए कहा कि पैकेज्ड जंक फूड पर मौजूद हेल्थ स्टार रेटिंग दरअसल, उपभोक्ता को गुमराह करने के लिए डिजाइन की गई है। इन पर जोर देते हुए ही भारतीय खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक प्राधिकरण (एफएसएसएआई) जंक फूड को लाइसेंस देगा, लेकिन किया इसके विपरीत जाना चाहिए। उन्होंने कहा कि इन उत्पादों पर वार्निंग लेबल दिया जाना बेहद जरूरी है। दूसरे देशों ने भी इसे खारिज किया इस विचार-विमर्श कार्यक्रम में देशभर के लगभग 50 विशेषज्ञ शामिल हुए थे। यहां आपको बता दें कि स्वास्थ्य स्टार रेटिंग को बैक-एंड पर एक एल्गोरिदम के आधार पर दर्शाया जाता है। यह केवल ऑस्ट्रेलिया और न्यूजीलैंड जैसे कुछ देशों में स्वेच्छा से अपनाया जाता है और महज कुछ खाद्य उत्पादों पर होती हैं। सीएसई ने कहा कि इसे कई अन्य देशों में भी इस खारिज कर दिया गया है, क्योंकि यह उपभोक्ता को गुमराह कर सकता है। विशेषज्ञों ने कहा कि फ्रंट-ऑफ-पैक लेबलिंग में सबसे अच्छा विशिष्ट चेतावनी लेबल होना रहेगा। इस योजना को आगे बढ़ाने की तैयारी भारतीय खाद्य सुरक्षा और मानक प्राधिकरण की अगुआई वाली समिति द्वारा सबसे पहले पैकेज्ड खाद्य पदार्थों पर फ्रंट-ऑफ-पैक लेबलिंग की सिफारिश की गई थी। सीएसई भी इस समिति का एक हिस्सा था। खाद्य उद्योग के दबाव के कारण एफएसएसएआई 2019 में एक और मसौदा लेकर आया। खाद्य उद्योग अभी भी खुश नहीं था और इस मसौदे को निरस्त कर दिया गया था। जनवरी-जून 2021 से लेबलिंग डिजाइन को लेकर विचार-विमर्श हुआ। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया कि फरवरी में परामर्श के बाद प्राधिकरण की योजना हेल्थ स्टार रेटिंग के साथ आगे बढ़ने की है।

Sustainable Food Systems

Say 'no' to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Instead of the 'Health Star Ratings' on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will "mislead the consumers", the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. "Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done. India can't afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is," CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee). The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds - limits to know unhealthy levels - based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. "Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed. The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the "Health Star Rating'," the CSE statement said. "The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly," said CSE's Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. "Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings," reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. "We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently."

Sustainable Food Systems

Say 'no' To Health Star Ratings On Junk Food: Experts

Instead of the ‘Health Star Ratings’ on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will “mislead the consumers”, the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer.By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done.India can’t afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is,” CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee).The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy levels – based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. “Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019.The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed.The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the “Health Star Rating’,” the CSE statement said. “The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly,” said CSE’s Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods.These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. “Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings,” reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. “We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently.”

Sustainable Food Systems

Say 'no' to health star ratings on junk food: Expe. Read more at: https://ianslive.in/news/say_no_to_health_star_ratings_on_junk_food_experts-866631/NATION/1

Instead of the 'Health Star Ratings' on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will "mislead the consumers", the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. "Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done. India can't afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is," CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee). The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds - limits to know unhealthy levels - based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. "Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed. The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the "Health Star Rating'," the CSE statement said. "The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly," said CSE's Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. "Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings," reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. "We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently." --IANS niv/vd

Sustainable Food Systems

Say 'no' to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Sustainable Food Systems

Say 'no' to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Sustainable Food Systems

Say ‘no’ to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Instead of the ‘Health Star Ratings’ on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will “mislead the consumers”, the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. “Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done. India can’t afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is,” CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee). The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy levels – based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. “Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed. The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the “Health Star Rating’,” the CSE statement said. “The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly,” said CSE’s Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. “Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings,” reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. “We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently.”

Sustainable Food Systems

Say ‘no’ to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Instead of the ‘Health Star Ratings’ on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will “mislead the consumers”, the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. “Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done. India can’t afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is,” CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee). The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy levels – based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. “Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed. The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the “Health Star Rating’,” the CSE statement said. “The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly,” said CSE’s Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. “Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings,” reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. “We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently.”

Sustainable Food Systems

‘No’ to Health Star Ratings on junk food, say experts at CSE conclave

FSSAI’s pro-industry move will harm consumers Experts gathered to discuss the front-of-pack labeling on packaged foods, called that FSSAI must not go-ahead with ‘Health Star Ratings’ on packaged junk foods as they are misleading and can do more harm than good for the consumer Echoed that the consumer needs to be warned about junk foods through ‘warning’ labels, if the government is serious to slow down the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases FSSAI must come forward and show that they care for the Indian consumer and public health: Sunita Narain, director general, CSE Find the details of the conclave: click here April 20, 2022:Experts from public health, medical fraternity and consumer groups gathered to discuss the issue of front-of-pack labeling (FOPL) on packaged junk foods on April 19, 2022. The deliberation was part of the three-day’National Conclave on Sustainable Food Systems‘ which is being organized by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) at the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Rajasthan. “India can’t afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time, the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy is junk food”, said, Sunita Narain, director general, Center for Science and Environment, while leading the expert deliberation on the ‘Need for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods’. “Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done”, she added. The deliberations included about 50 experts from across the country. The expert speakers for this session included: Amit Khurana, program director, Sustainable Food Systems, Center for Science and Environment; George Cheryan,director, CUTS International, Rajasthan; Vandana Prasad,community pediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi; andSanjay Pandey,lead advisor, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, India. Front-of-pack labeling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013. CSE was part of this committee. FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy levels – based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. Due to the industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From Jan-Jun 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labeling design to be adopted, thresholds to made applicable and nutrients to be displayed. CSE has documented all delays and dilutions until June 2021 in a Down to Earth Cover story. The latest consultation took place in Feb, 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the ‘Health Star Rating’. “The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labeling system, which is industry-friendly” said Amit Khurana, program director, Sustainable Food Systems at the Center for Science and Environment, who was part of these consultations. “All this while, FSSAI has been insensitive to the information needs of the consumer. It also ignored global best practices and evidence around them. Instead, in an orchestrated way, through the scientific panel and commissioned studies, it is now getting ready to adopt a labeling system which is considered least effective and rejected across the world”, added Khurana Health Star Rating is a labeling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. It is only adopted voluntarily in few countries such as Australia and New Zealand and only a part of food products carries it. It has been rejected in several other countries as it can mislead the consumer and be easily manipulated by the industry. For example, its algorithm includes scores for positive nutrients ie, fruits, vegetables and nuts etc., which is a carefully crafted industry strategy to sell ultra-processed foods as good foods. It also does not tell the consumer, if a particular product has high level of salt or sugar as it only gives a summary indicator in the form of a star. For example, a hypertensive will not get to easily know if a product has salt or not. It will also not help in building long-term consumer awareness about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar and fat. It was meant to compare foods within a particular food category. “Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labeling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings”, said Vandana Prasad, community pediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi . “We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently”, she added. George Cheriyan, director, Consumer Unity and Trusts Society (CUTS) International and a member of the FSSAI, strongly advocated for a FOPL that is simple and easily interpretable by a consumer, thereby helping them identify unhealthy products. “Voluntary Health Star Ratings allows industry to use it selectively. Hence it is used on products that are already healthier than others. It is important that Indian regulators choose a simple and interpretive label that aids consumer to choose between healthy and less healthy products”, he said. The proven best practice in front-of-pack labeling is nutrient specific ‘warning’ labels. They have been simple and effective in discouraging junk food consumption. Several Latin American countries, Canada and Israel have already adopted warning labels. Many other countries are considering them. Among them, the best known are symbol-based warning labels such as that of Israel. These will be most suitable for India, as it would transcend the literature and language barriers. “We have submitted our concerns to FSSAI. It can’t allow a system that will effectively nudge the consumer to make unhealthy choices. It will mislead the consumer because of its design, algorithm and inclusion of positive nutrients in the calculation. It can’t allow relaxed limits and voluntary adoption”, said MsNarain, while concluding. “FSSAI must come forward and show that they care for the Indian consumer and public health. They will have to act strongly to counter the industry pressure and fulfill the mandate given to them”, added Narain.

Sustainable Food Systems

Its time Indian shoppers warned about how unhealthy, unhealthy junk meals is

As an alternative of the ‘Well being Star Scores’, as proposed by the Meals Security and Requirements Authority of India (FSSAI), which is able to “mislead the shoppers”, the Centre for Science & Surroundings (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy ranges of salt, sugar, and fats be featured on junk meals. “Well being Star Scores are designed by the highly effective meals {industry} to mislead the buyer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk meals, which is the alternative of what needs to be performed”, CSE Director Basic Sunita Narain mentioned. “India cannot afford the epidemic of weight problems and non-communicable ailments. It’s time the Indian shopper is warned about how unhealthy and unhealthy junk meals is,” she mentioned. She was main the skilled deliberation on the necessity for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk meals at Nimli as a part of a workshop on meals security and junk meals labelling, a press release mentioned right here. Entrance-of-pack labelling on packaged meals was first really helpful by an FSSAI-led committee fashioned in 2013 (CSE was a part of this committee). The FSSAI then got here up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy ranges – primarily based on these developed by the WHO for nations like India within the South-East Asia Area. “On account of {industry} strain, FSSAI got here up with one other draft in 2019. The meals {industry} was nonetheless not happy and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations have been held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make relevant and vitamins to be displayed. The most recent session occurred in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go forward with the “Well being Star Ranking’,” the CSE assertion mentioned. “The only real goal of the stakeholder consultations, which have been closely dominated by the packaged meals {industry}, was to provide you with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly,” mentioned CSE’s Programme Director, Sustainable Meals Programs, Amit Khurana. Well being Star Ranking is a labelling system which incorporates depiction of 1 to five stars on packaged meals. These stars are depicted primarily based on an algorithm on the back-end, which isn’t recognized to shoppers. “Given all of the proof, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public well being objectives, they have to take the type of warning labels and never well being star scores,” reiterated Vandana Prasad, a neighborhood paediatrician, Public Well being Useful resource Community, Delhi. “We hope the FSSAI will stand up to the strain of meals processing corporations and meet this requirement urgently.”

Sustainable Food Systems

Say ‘no’ to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Instead of the ‘Health Star Ratings’ on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will “mislead the consumers”, the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. “Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done. India can’t afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is,” CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee). The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy levels – based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. “Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed. The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the “Health Star Rating’,” the CSE statement said. “The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly,” said CSE’s Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. “Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings,” reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. “We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently.” –IANS

Sustainable Food Systems

Say ‘no’ to health star ratings on junk food: Experts

Instead of the ‘Health Star Ratings’ on junk food, as proposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which will “mislead the consumers”, the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) on Wednesday demanded that warnings about unhealthy levels of salt, sugar, and fat be featured instead. “Health Star Ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the FSSAI will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done. India can’t afford the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases. It is time the Indian consumer is warned about how bad and unhealthy junk food is,” CSE Director General Sunita Narain said. She was leading the expert deliberation on the aNeed for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods at Nimli as part of a workshop on food safety and junk food labelling, a statement said here. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013 (CSE was part of this committee). The FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds – limits to know unhealthy levels – based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. “Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to make applicable and nutrients to be displayed. The latest consultation took place in February 2022, when it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the “Health Star Rating’,” the CSE statement said. “The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly,” said CSE’s Programme Director, Sustainable Food Systems, Amit Khurana. Health Star Rating is a labelling system which includes depiction of 1 to 5 stars on packaged foods. These stars are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers. “Given all the evidence, if front-of-pack labelling are to cater primarily to public health goals, they must take the form of warning labels and not health star ratings,” reiterated Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi. “We hope the FSSAI will withstand the pressure of food processing companies and meet this requirement urgently.” –IANS

Sustainable Food Systems

Give 'warning' Label, Not Health Star Rating On Junk Food Packages: Experts Tell FSSAI

The government should issue a warning' label on packaged junk foods instead of health star ratings as they are misleading and doing more harm to customers The government should issue a warning' label on packaged junk foods instead of health star ratings as they are misleading and doing more harm to customers than good, health experts said on Wednesday. Health star rating is a labelling system that grades packaged foods on the scale of one to five stars. If the government is serious about the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases, the consumer needs to be cautioned about junk foods through warning' labels, public health experts gathered at the National Conclave on Sustainable Food Systems', organized by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in Nimli, Rajasthan, said. Health star ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done, Sunita Narain, director general, CSE, said while leading the expert deliberation on the Need for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods'. The deliberations included about 50 experts from across the country, including Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems, CSE; George Cheriyan, director, CUTS International, Rajasthan; Vandana Prasad, community pediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi; and Sanjay Pandey, lead advisor, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, India. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an the FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013. CSE was part of this committee. FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds limits to know unhealthy levels based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to made applicable and nutrients to be displayed. CSE has documented all delays and dilutions until June 2021, the organisation alleged in a statement. The latest consultation took place in February during which it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the Health Star Rating'. The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly, said Khurana, who was part of these consultations, adding that all this while, FSSAI has been insensitive to the information needs of the consumer. He alleged that the statutory body also ignored the global best practices and evidence around it. Instead, in an orchestrated way, through the scientific panel and commissioned studies, it is now getting ready to adopt a labelling system which is considered least effective and rejected across the world, he said. Health star ratings are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers, CSE said, adding that it is only adopted voluntarily in few countries such as Australia and New Zealand and only some food products carry it. It has been rejected in several other countries as it can mislead the consumer and be easily manipulated by the industry, the CSE said. The proven best practice in front-of-pack labelling is nutrient specific warning' labels, experts said. They have been simple and effective in discouraging junk food consumption. Several Latin American countries, Canada and Israel have already adopted warning labels. Many other countries are considering them. Among them, the best known are symbol-based warning labels such as that of Israel. These will be most suitable for India, as it would transcend the literature and language barriers, the CSE said. We have submitted our concerns to FSSAI. It can't allow a system that will effectively nudge the consumer to make unhealthy choices. It will mislead the consumer because of its design, algorithm and inclusion of positive nutrients in the calculation. It can't allow relaxed limits and voluntary adoption, Narain said.

Industrial Pollution

Women in India’s West Bengal fight upcoming coal mine

Women are leading a movement to resist government efforts to set up a coal mine in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Mainomoti Soren, a 42-year-old farmer in Dewanganj village in eastern India, was one of at least 100 women who clashed with supporters of a political rally in her village over the government’s attempts to buy her land to mine the coal buried there. As the police beat the protesters with sticks last December, Soren, who was two months pregnant at the time, felt blood oozing down her legs and she fainted. Villagers rushed her on a motorcycle to a hospital but she had already lost the baby. “I kept pleading about my pregnancy, but they didn’t listen and beat me with a stick,” says Soren. Soren is among the hundreds of women belonging to an Indigenous community who have been leading since September a fierce battle against the West Bengal government’s efforts to set up a coal mine in Birbhum district which is touted to be the second-largest in the world on account of its estimated coal reserves of 2,102 million tonnes. She is trying to hold on to the 4 acres (1.6 hectares) of land that she owns in Birbhum, about 200km (125 miles) from state capital Kolkata, where she grows paddy and vegetables. She keeps what she needs to feed her family of four, including her husband and their two children, and sells the rest, earning about 5,000 rupees ($66) on average a month. With the income barely enough, her husband works as a daily wage labourer on another farm. “We find it difficult to eke out our livelihood,” says Soren, adding, “the loss of land will push us further into poverty.” Villagers complain that no action has been taken against the errant policemen involved in the assault on the protesting women. “We were beaten up in the absence of female police,” Suhagini Soren, another villager who had joined the protests, told Al Jazeera. “They assaulted us severely but no action has been taken yet,” she said, showing four stitches on her hand as a result of the scuffle. Senior police officers, however, denied any police brutality. “There was a minor scuffle between the two groups when the rally was being taken out in the village. Police intervened and pacified both the factions. But there were no reports of police brutality,” Nagendra Nath Tripathi, Birbhum superintendent of police, told Al Jazeera. The police were investigating the claims of brutality, he added. The controversial coal block The proposed coal project is spread across 18 villages and covers 4,314 households and about 21,000 people in the Deocha-Panchami-Dewanganj-Harisingha blocks of Birbhum and is commonly known as Deocha-Panchami coal mining project. Locals mostly farm their own land or someone else’s and also work as daily wage labourers in stone quarries and crushers in the area. In September 2018, the federal government allocated the coal block to the West Bengal government. A year later, the state government handed over the block to West Bengal Power Development Corp Ltd (WBPDCL) for extracting coal and generating power. The government plans to invest 350 million rupees ($4.6m) for power generation. The government has earmarked about 3,370 acres (1,364 hectares) of land for the coal mine of which 2,392 acres (968 hectares) is owned by the local families, which it aims to acquire. But land acquisition in the country, specifically in West Bengal, is a tricky issue. The current All India Trinamool Congress government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, came to power in 2011 on the back of a people’s movement to resist the then state government’s efforts to acquire their land to lease it to Tata Group to set up a car factory. The move to excavate the coal comes at a time when India has committed to take the country’s non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030, up from 150GW now, and net zero emissions by 2070. “The government has promised net zero emissions by 2070 but it’s silent on reducing the dependency on coal,” said Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based think-tank. Currently, India gets about 51.7 percent of its power from coal-based thermal power plants that use about 700 million tonnes of coal every year. Apart from that, coal is also extensively used in various industries, like iron and steel, cement, bricks, fertiliser, and aluminium.

Sustainable Food Systems

Give 'warning' label, not health star rating on junk food packages: Experts tell to FSSAI

The government should issue a warning’ label on packaged junk foods instead of health star ratings as they are misleading and doing more harm to customers than good, health experts said on Wednesday. Health star rating is a labelling system that grades packaged foods on the scale of one to five stars. If the government is serious about the epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases, the consumer needs to be cautioned about junk foods through warning’ labels, public health experts gathered at the National Conclave on Sustainable Food Systems’, organized by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in Nimli, Rajasthan, said. Health star ratings are designed by the powerful food industry to mislead the consumer. By pushing these, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will give license to glorify junk foods, which is the opposite of what should be done, Sunita Narain, director general, CSE, said while leading the expert deliberation on the Need for front-of-pack warning labels on ultra-processed junk foods’. The deliberations included about 50 experts from across the country, including Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems, CSE; George Cheriyan, director, CUTS International, Rajasthan; Vandana Prasad, community pediatrician, Public Health Resource Network, Delhi; and Sanjay Pandey, lead advisor, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, India. Front-of-pack labelling on packaged foods was first recommended by an the FSSAI-led committee formed in 2013. CSE was part of this committee. FSSAI then came up with a draft regulation in 2018, which had strict thresholds limits to know unhealthy levels based on those developed by the WHO for countries like India in the South-East Asia Region. Due to industry pressure, FSSAI came up with another draft in 2019. The food industry was still not pleased and this draft was repealed. From January-June 2021, stakeholder consultations were held on the labelling design to be adopted, thresholds to made applicable and nutrients to be displayed. CSE has documented all delays and dilutions until June 2021, the organisation alleged in a statement. The latest consultation took place in February during which it was made clear that FSSAI plans to go ahead with the Health Star Rating’. The sole objective of the stakeholder consultations, which were heavily dominated by the packaged food industry, was to come up with a labelling system, which is industry-friendly, said Khurana, who was part of these consultations, adding that all this while, FSSAI has been insensitive to the information needs of the consumer. He alleged that the statutory body also ignored the global best practices and evidence around it. Instead, in an orchestrated way, through the scientific panel and commissioned studies, it is now getting ready to adopt a labelling system which is considered least effective and rejected across the world, he said. Health star ratings are depicted based on an algorithm at the back-end, which is not known to consumers, CSE said, adding that it is only adopted voluntarily in few countries such as Australia and New Zealand and only some food products carry it. It has been rejected in several other countries as it can mislead the consumer and be easily manipulated by the industry, the CSE said. The proven best practice in front-of-pack labelling is nutrient specific warning’ labels, experts said. They have been simple and effective in discouraging junk food consumption. Several Latin American countries, Canada and Israel have already adopted warning labels. Many other countries are considering them. Among them, the best known are symbol-based warning labels such as that of Israel. These will be most suitable for India, as it would transcend the literature and language barriers, the CSE said. We have submitted our concerns to FSSAI. It can’t allow a system that will effectively nudge the consumer to make unhealthy choices. It will mislead the consumer because of its design, algorithm and inclusion of positive nutrients in the calculation. It can’t allow relaxed limits and voluntary adoption, Narain said.