Junk Food Guidelines

The Ministry of Women and Child Development

(MWCD) is tasked with tackling issues related to
nutrition and specifically under-nutrition among
children, pregnant and lactating mothers, and
adolescent girls through various schemes. Thereby,
there was a need felt to address the issue of junk food
which is much popular among children and has
significantly contributed to childhood obesity.
Specific Guidelines have been developed by the Ministry in this regard and some of the major
highlights of the same are as follows.

Highlights

 In India, there is no official definition of “junk food” till now and the term “HFSS food”
(Foods High in Fat, Salt and Sugar) is commonly used in place of junk food.
Consumption of food high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) has been found to be associated
with many diseases including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and others. The definition of
HFSS foods in the context of school canteen and school children as decided by Working
Group is as cited below:

“HFSS foods” may be defined as foods (any food or drink, packaged or non-packaged)
which contain low amounts of proteins, vitamins, phytochemicals, minerals and dietary
fibre but are rich in fat (saturated fatty acids), salt and sugar and high in energy
(calories) that are known to have negative impact on health if consumed regularly or in
high amounts”.
 Private vendors and street vendors should not to be allowed to sell junk foods during
school timings (7 A.M. to 4.00 P.M.) within the vicinity of 200 meters.
 Ban the sale of Junk foods in school canteens.
 Junk foods should not be sold to children wearing school uniform.
 Some of the foods that needs to be prohibited in school canteens include chips/wafers,
fried foods like potato fries, chips made by local manufacturers, sherbets, ice golas (ice
lollies), soft beverages including sugar sweetened carbonated beverages and sugar
sweetened non-carbonated beverages, ready-to-eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, tikka, gol
gappas and all types of confectionaries. The Guidelines also provide a list of suitable
food items to be offered in school canteens.
 Schools should constitute a ‘School Canteen Management Committee’ having about 7 to
10 members including teachers, parents, students, and school canteen operators to
implement and monitor the guidelines so as to make safe food available to students in the
school. The schools have been asked to not just monitor the canteens but even inspect the
tiffins/lunch boxes that students bring from home to ensure it has only healthy snacks.
The school management committees (that are to be formed immediately) would have the
job of deciding the type of food to be prepared in the school kitchen / canteen, check the
quality of ingredients used, and ensure food safety, hygiene and sanitation standards.
 Awareness generating events regarding nutritious food and avoidance of HFSS foods,
like Celebration of Nutrition Week (1-7th September) and other such occasions may be
organized throughout the year by schools.
 Schools should regularly monitor the height, weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) of all
the students and based on their trajectory, individualized counselling should be provided
to each student and parents during Parent-Teacher Meetings. The schools may hire
nutritionists and advocate regular physical activities such as yoga along with other life
style modifications.
 Also the role of various stakeholders in addressing the matters related to obesity and
HFSS foods in India including schools, parents/families and community and various
ministries have been mentioned in the Guidelines.
The Guidelines have been forwarded to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)
for implementation. The MHRD has requested all-CBSE affiliated schools to follow the
guidelines. The MHRD has also been requested to issue an advisory to all the States/UTs
accordingly. Further, the MWCD has sent communication to the MHRD regarding incorporation
of chapters on junk foods for Classes V to IX, under the NCERT curriculum, highlighting the ill-
effects of junk foods and to sensitize and orient students about the healthy eating habits.