Mumbai, Jul 29 (PTI) Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale, advertisement, and free distribution of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) within 50 metres of school premises to promote healthy eating habits among children.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Wednesday the order will be strictly enforced across the state, adding that every school kitchen operator and food supplier to schools should have licenses under food safety regulations.
He said the move to ban the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high-fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items is part of efforts to promote healthy eating habits among children.
“Within school premises and up to 50 metres from the school compound, the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high-fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items is completely banned by the FDA. It will be implemented strictly,” Mundhe told reporters here.
He said the state government issued a compliance order on July 27 to enforce food safety and nutritional standards across educational institutions, a move that will cover nearly two crore students studying in about 1.08 lakh schools in Maharashtra.
The guidelines apply to all government, government-aided and private schools affiliated to any education board, with no institution exempt from the provisions, he said.
Mundhe said all school canteens, midday meal kitchens, hostel kitchens and food suppliers catering to educational institutions must obtain mandatory registration and licences under food safety regulations.
“No organisation or institution can prepare or supply food to schools, hostels or under the midday meal scheme without registration and a valid licence to operate,” he said.
The FDA commissioner said school principals, headmasters and local authorities would play a key role in implementing the restrictions, which cover children from 22 months of age to students studying in Class 12.
Mundhe said wholesome food, including vegetables, protein-rich items, fruits, milk and milk products, should be served to students, while HFSS food items must be completely avoided.
The primary responsibility for ensuring the quality of food served to students would rest with school managements, including principals, he added.
Mundhe added the FDA had already conducted awareness programmes in more than 3,000 schools for students and teachers as part of its “Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra” campaign.
“We have held awareness programmes in schools for students and teachers. We aim to implement safe food, safe Maharashtra,” he said.
The commissioner further said every school would undergo food safety inspections, with at least one food sample collected annually for testing. Schools, food suppliers and kitchen operators flouting the norms would face appropriate action.
He said every food vendor would be required to display a food safety board containing the vendor’s name, licence details, type of food sold and its nutritional value. The FDA is also planning to appoint food safety supervisors to monitor compliance and create public awareness on food safety.
Mundhe said the School Education Department, district and block education officers, parent-teacher associations and school management committees would be responsible for ensuring compliance with the norms.
“It will be the responsibility of the Maharashtra School Education Department to make sure that every food vendor in its schools obtains a proper licence to operate. District and block education officers will have to ensure implementation and submit monitoring and compliance reports. The School Education Department can coordinate with the FDA for any technical support,” he said.
He added that education boards would have to incorporate the FDA’s directives into their guidelines, and schools repeatedly violating the norms could face warnings and even cancellation of registration.
According to Mundhe, Maharashtra has 1,08,157 schools across various managements and education boards, including local body, private, tribal welfare, social welfare and special schools, with over 2.02 crore students enrolled from Class 1 to Class 12.
“We want such rules and directives to be implemented on a mission mode,” the FDA commissioner said. PTI ND VT NSK
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