Education & Career
FSSAI seeks 50-metre junk food school buffer
The Hindu BusinessLine··2d ago
FSSAI is advancing rules to restrict sales of high-fat, high-sugar foods within 50 metres of schools. The authority published fat, salt and sugar thresholds in August and invited feedback until October 6. The plan covers India's 1.5 million schools. Maharashtra has already ordered 51 shops near schools to stop stocking such products after 133 violations.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Shops within 50 metres of schools may lose the right to sell HFSS snacks if the central rule is notified.
- Public comments on FSSAI's August thresholds remain open until October 6.
- FSSAI CEO Rajit Punhani said shop owners can still sell non-HFSS foods under the proposal.
What's Happening
- The safe-food schools plan was first proposed in 2020 and still has no fixed timeline.
- PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Nestle already face separate proposed red warning-label rules on HFSS products.
- World Obesity Federation data cited in the report put overweight or obese Indian children aged 5-19 at 41 million by 2025.
Maharashtra's stricter line
- State food safety commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said shops within 50 metres cannot stock HFSS items at all.
- Inspectors found violations at 133 shops and ordered 51 to discontinue that business.
- Five countries have proposed or enforced sale restrictions around schools, University of North Carolina researchers said.
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