Bhopal, Mar 24 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday told the assembly that there is need to enforce food safety and standards guidelines strictly after two of its MLAs raised the issue of rising junk food consumption by children.
The issue was raised during Question Hour by Jabalpur North BJP MLA Abhilash Pandey who sought to know if the state government had run a special drive in the last six months to check adulteration in fast food. Consumption of fast food in the state was on the rise and this was fuelling diseases, the MLA told the House.
In response, Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who also holds the health portfolio, said, “There is need to enforce the (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India or FSSAI) guidelines forcibly. The issue is serious.” Shukla informed the House that Rs 9 crore has been recovered from those involved in food adulteration, adding the government was preparing a roadmap to ensure people’s health.
Pandey said such fast food had Ajinomoto (a brand name for monosodium glutomate), flavoured ingredients and preservatives. He sought to know whether there were guidelines to check such ingredients.
Incidentally, Pandey also drew attention of the House to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over obesity in his February 23 ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode. The PM had asked people to cut down on cooking oil consumption. Modi had also said the more concerning aspect has been the rise in obesity cases among children.
Speaking on the issue, MP Assembly Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said he had recently called a meeting of doctors after incidents of children dying of heart attacks in Indore.
Doctors pointed at junk food consumption as one of the reasons, Vijayvargiya, an MLA from Indore, told the assembly.
He said ingredients were being added in such way to food so as to make children addicted to it. PTI LAL BNM
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