Sin tax for redemption
The Goods and Services Tax of 40 per cent on “sugar-sweetened aerated and flavoured water” has a big bang impact on public health
Who is cooking our recipe books?
A subtle marketing drive is changing our food habits and we do not even know it
CSE welcomes Delhi High Court order on junk food
Delhi High Court orders to regulate junk food consumption among school children across India. Asks the food authority to enforce its
Delhi High Court asks for detailed response on the case on banning junk food in schools
CSE welcomes the court’s directive in the 2010 PIL filed by Uday Foundation.
Junk Food Targeted at children
There is nothing called junk food” – says the food industry. This was the contention that the industry had put forth to a committee set up in 2013 under directions from the Delhi High Court. The committee had been tasked to frame guidelines for junk food in the country. I was a member of the committee, along with extremely dedicated, committed and knowledgeable medical professionals.
Junk games and schoolchildren
“There is nothing called junk food. The problem with obesity lies with children who do not exercise enough. What is needed is for them to run and jump, and to do this they need to consume high-calorie food. So, food high in salt, sugar and fat is good for them.” This is what was argued vehemently and rudely by representatives of the food industry in the committee, set up under directions from the Delhi High Court to frame guidelines for junk food in the country.
How do you like your food, sir?
My local vegetable vendor sells ordinary lemons packed in plastic bags. It got me thinking if this is a sign of improving standards of food safety and hygiene. After all if we go to any supermarket in the rich and food-processed world, we will find food neatly packed so that there is no contamination through human hands. Then there is the army of food inspectors, who check everything from the processing plant to the supplies in restaurants.
Food Safety Mess
Traders say Food Safety and Standards Act rolls out red carpet for multinationals
More to junk food than meets the eye
Junk food is junk by its very definition. But how bad is it and what is it that companies do not tell people about this food? This is what the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) laboratory checked. The results were both predictable and alarming. What was equally predictable was the response of big food companies and their spokespersons—denials and dismissals. But they are missing the point.
When business rules our kitchens
Once again there is a food safety scare. A deadly strain of E coli bacterium has hit Germany, where it has taken the lives of 25 people and affected another 2,300 till date. German food inspectors on the trail of the source of contamination have as yet made two errors—blaming Spanish cucumbers and then organic bean sprouts—but no breakthrough.
What's in your Honey?
Ayurveda prescribes it for a range of ailments. People eat it for rejuvenation and boosting immunity. An Indian homemaker’s kitchen shelf is incomplete without a jar of this amber liquid.
Control your food. It is your business
Our control over our food and our health requires inventive institutional reordering and new ideas about the way food regulations work.