Tukaram Mundhe effect? Maharashtra plans healthier food at govt offices
Maharashtra may be following the Tukaram Mundhe-led state Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on high sugar and high fat products in and around schools with a measure to also ensure healthier eating at government offices, meetings and events.
The cabinet has decided to make it mandatory for healthy and nutritious snacks and food to be served in canteens of government and semi-government offices and during training programmes, events and official meetings.
While doing away with oily and ultra-processed food, which are a leading cause of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, the decision intends to encourage healthy food practices by officials and visitors to government offices.
The menu will include fruits, including banana, guava, papaya and apple, boiled eggs, boiled sprouts, poha, idli sambhar, hot milk, green tea, curries made of sprouts and bhakri (unleavened flatbread) made from jowar, bajra, ragi and pulses. Priority will be given to local and traditional food, with green vegetables, buttermilk, pulses and salad being made available at lunch.
A ‘healthy’ menu has already been introduced in canteens at the Mantralaya, the state’s administrative headquarters in Mumbai.The proposal, which was moved by the state public health department, said that around 66 per cent of the deaths in India were because of non-communicable diseases. Around 24 per cent of people in Maharashtra have hypertension, 15 per cent have diabetes, 25 per cent suffer from obesity and 30 per cent from heart disease. More worrying is that these disorders are manifesting at a younger age.
After a major crackdown on restaurants and eating houses for violation of hygiene and sanitation norms, the Maharashtra FDA had turned the lens on school canteens selling junk food. The FDA also directed that shops in 50-metre radius of schools be disallowed to sell foods high in sugar, salt, saturated fats and trans fats. This covers cakes, energy drinks and fried snacks such as chips, samosa and the staple vada pav.
These directives will apply on aided, unaided and private schools, and cover institutions affiliated to the state and national education boards. Maharashtra has around 108,000 schools and over 20 million students. Changing lifestyles, aggressive marketing and social media have led to easy availability and high consumption of junk food among students. Coupled with lack of outdoor activity, this has caused childhood obesity, poor nutrition, metabolic disorders, anaemia and concentration issues, it all leading to a creeping health crisis.
It would now be mandatory for school canteens, tuck shops, mid-day meal centres, hostel kitchens and all suppliers of food to have FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) registrations. The sale, advertising and distribution of HFSS (high fat, sugar and salt) foods in and around schools would be prohibited.
Mundhe, the FDA commissioner, is a 2005 batch IAS officer. His crackdown on Mumbai restaurants and elite clubs has covered the Cricket Club of India at Churchgate, MIG Cricket Club in Bandra, R.K. Juhu Gymkhana and Aparna Juhu Gymkhana and Willingdon Sports Club in Tardeo, whose food licences were suspended along with that of a restaurant in the Goregaon Sports Club.
The FDA has also taken action against iconic establishments, such as Parsi Dairy Farm at Marine Lines and K Rustom & Co ice cream at Churchgate, as well as landmark restaurants, including the much-patronised Noor Mohammadi, Shalimar, Jimmy Boy Mahim and Poornima at Fort in Mumbai.
The FDA inspections revealed cockroach and fungal infestations, spoiled vegetables, water accumulation and dirty floors and counters. Parsi Dairy Farm reopened after complying with the food safety norms.
