September 21, 2026

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HIDDEN DANGERS IN YOUR FOOD

The battle is over a few square centimetres. Yet it could determine how millions of Indians decide what to eat. We are talking about the label on food products. Walk down a supermarket aisle and the front of the colourful package beckons you enticingly: `high protein', `no added sugar', `multigrain', `heart-healthy' or `rich in vitamins'. But how much sugar, salt or saturated fat the product has is usually relegated to a nutritional table on the back, in small type that is hard to decipher. And studies have repeatedly shown that an excessive amount of any of these ingredients can be extremely harmful.For decades, this arrangement attracted relatively little attention. Now, it has become far harder to defend because India's disease profile has changed alarmingly. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments are taking an enormous toll even as consumption of packaged and highly processed foods expands. That is why an apparently technical dispute over Front-of-Pack Labelling (FOPL) travelled all the way to the Supreme Court. The court is ruling on a PIL filed by the non-profit 3S and Our Health Society, seeking prominent warnings on pack- aged foods containing excessive quantities of sugar, salt and saturated fat.Suddenly, a debate that had been confined to regulators, food companies and health activists has become a national one. Do Indian consumers have the right to be warned, clearly and instantly, about excessive quantities of ingredients associated with poor health in their food? How do you provide that warning while being fair to the $140 billion (Rs 13.3 lakh crore) food processing industry in India? THE HEALTH WARNINGS To its credit, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the regulatory body under the Union ministry of health, has been sending notices, over 150 to be precise, to several food companies over misleading advertisements, false claims and non-compliance with its labelling rules and regulations. Among them are FMCG behemoths like Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Red Bull India and, more recently, CG Foods India, which was asked to stop producing bhujia namkeen over hygiene violations.Yet on the question of FOPL to warn consumers of the dangers of some ingredients being used, the FSSAI spent years on drafts and consultations that led to much delay, forcing the Supreme Court to express impatience over it. In a hearing on September 10, the apex court said, "We are concerned about the health of people, especially growing children. Everyone should come forward and cooperate in the national interest." The court will issue a detailed order and has scheduled the next hearing for September 28.What makes the matter even more urgent are the findings of sundry health studies, including one backed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) published in The Lancet in 2023. It estimated that 101 million Indians were living with diabetes and 136 million with pre-diabetes. The study put the prevalence of obesity at 28.6 per cent and hypertension at 35.5 per cent. The scale of the problem even prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge Indians to cut their consumption of sugar and oil by 10 per cent to tackle the rising burden of obesity and lifestyle diseases.The danger has grown because, beyond the concerns raised in the past over additives and preservatives such

GRILLING THE EATERIES

On the face of it, little seems to have changed at Noor Mohammadi Hotel in Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar. The whitetopped tables are still in place; its signature Nalli Nihari and Chicken Sanju Baba--a dish based on a recipe given by actor Sanjay Dutt--continue to draw committed patrons; and the framed M.F. Husain painting of a rooster still hangs on the wall. But the roughly 1,200 diners who eat here each day will notice the difference on closer inspection: a sharper focus on cleanliness, with staff now wearing gloves and hairnets.The transformation is the result of a crackdown by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA), led by its 51-year-old commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe. The 2005-batch IAS officer has emerged as the new spectre haunting the state's Food Business Operators (FBOs) who flout safety and hygiene norms. By the end of August, around 10,000 FBOs had reportedly been inspected.Since joining the FDA in May, Mundhe has led a campaign that has taken on everyone from iconic establishments such as Noor Mohammadi, Ayub's, Poornima, K. Rustom & Co. and Parsi Dairy Farm to well-known food operators such as ISKCON's Govinda's and IRCTC's base kitchens; from clubs patronised by the rich and powerful--the Cricket Club of India and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA)--to global brands such as Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut. Little wonder, the FDA commissioner has become a viral sensation on social media, the joke being a `Tukaram Mundhe approval badge' carries more heft for any eatery than a Michelin star.Mundhe's enforcement has extended even to the canteens at Mantralaya and the Bombay High Court. After the HC questioned whether the FDA had inspected canteens in government and semi-government institutions, its officials visited those on the court premises. Of the three canteens, one was operating without a valid FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) licence and was ordered to stop operations, while the other two were issued improvement notices. The FDA has also banned the sale of junk food such as vada paav and energy drinks in school canteens and within a 50-metre radius of schools, as well as the sale of `analogue' paneer, a cheaper substitute made from milk solids, vegetable fats and other low-cost ingredients.The crackdown has extended beyond eateries and food products, too. The FDA has served notices to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over their appearance in alleged surrogate advertisements for a pan masala brand.Despite shaking up the food industry, Mundhe says he considers the crackdown "nothing great" but simply "routine work". He believes that while regulators should impose the writ of law, citizens, too, need to be vigilant about what they buy and consume. "This is an issue that is related to all, from the young to the aged," says Mundhe. Stressing that the agency is acting in a "fair and transparent" manner, he says he is working without a vested interest. "My only vested interest is to serve the people of Maharashtra." He also rejects the charge that the FDA has acted in a high-handed manner, pointing to its powers under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. "The system is so broken," says an official, "that an officer who is just doing his duty is hailed as a hero."