The department of Women and Child Development is reviewing options to reduce consumption among children.
Fast food advertisements as we know it may soon be a thing of the past. The HRD ministry is reviewing and implementing a range of rule changes to reduce exposure to misleading promotions and thereby consumption of junk food among children.
It is already implementing the removal of junk food from all CBSE-affiliated schools. The directions, including the inspection of lunch boxes to rule out consumption of unhealthy food, may soon be implemented by schools.
The special committee, set up to suggest ways to keep junk food away from school children, has recommended restricting airing of advertisements promoting such food between 14:00 – 22:00 hrs on weekdays and from 08:00 – 22:00 hrs during weekends and holidays when child viewership is relatively high.
Another key suggestion is that advertisements promoting junk food should contain health advice about possible ill effects and stressed on providing adequate information about the ingredients and contents for sufficient duration so that it can be easily comprehended by the viewers. “Advertisement should not state or imply that a particular product will afford physical, social or psychological advantage over other children,” the panel suggested.