A coalition of consumer groups, led by Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi), has joined forces with public health advocates, legal experts, and medical professionals to implore the government to address the growing consumption of foods high in sugar, salt, and fat—commonly known as junk food. This collective effort aims to curb the intake of sugary colas, juices, chips, frozen foods, health drinks, chocolates, and pizzas, among other unhealthy options.
This collaboration represents the largest consortium to date, uniting to urge the Indian government to take action against foods that contribute to the surge in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart-related ailments.
The front has put forth several key demands, including the exclusion of companies manufacturing junk food from influencing policy decisions related to packaged foods. They propose the enactment of legislation to define junk food and the introduction of marketing restrictions similar to those in place for infant foods, with a particular focus on safeguarding the well-being of young consumers.
Besides, the coalition is advocating for the establishment of an inter-ministerial group tasked with formulating guidelines to discourage the provision of unhealthy foods in schools, hospitals, prisons, and other public institutions.
Arun Gupta, the convener of NAPi, a national think tank on nutrition policy, highlighted the ineffectiveness of current regulatory policies on junk foods and unveiled a report titled “The Junk Push,” which underscores the alarming increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods.
Remarkably, packaged food giants such as Nestle, Parle Products, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Britannia, ITC, Mondelez, Domino’s, and Pizza Hut could potentially face significant repercussions if policies are implemented.
While industry insiders acknowledge the need for regulation, they stress the importance of industry expertise in policy decisions. They argue that representation from food companies is vital, as they possess valuable insights into consumption dynamics within their respective categories.
In response, a spokesperson for Nestle India stated that the company is yet to review the report and therefore cannot provide a comment at this time.
Members of the coalition also expressed concerns about misleading advertisements employing celebrity endorsements and unsubstantiated health claims, particularly those aimed at children. They emphasized that these advertisements often fail to provide essential information as mandated by the Consumer Protection Act 2019—specifically, detailed upfront disclosures of sugar, salt, or saturated fat content.
The proposal for front-of-the-pack labelling with health star ratings by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) remains in draft form due to ongoing disputes among food companies, health organizations, and activists. The FSSAI executive stated that they had not yet seen the coalition’s report but reiterated their commitment to formulating policies in consensus with all stakeholders.
Epidemiologist and researcher HPS Sachdev emphasized the importance of keeping food and nutrition policy development free from industry influence to ensure the best interests of public health are served. Several companies contacted for comment, including PepsiCo, Britannia, ITC, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Parle Products, and Jubilant FoodWorks (the operator of Domino’s Pizza), did not respond to queries.
While an inter-ministerial committee under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is currently examining gaps in existing policies, there have been no recent updates on this matter.