COIMBATORE: In a bid to educate students on basic food safety standards and methods of identifying food adulteration, 'oil, sugar and salt boards' will be put up at all educational institutions across Coimbatore district soon.
The boards consist of informative posters and digital boards highlighting the harmful impacts of the amount of sugar, salt and oil present in popular food items. It also displays the effects of these foods on the human body as well as shares the recommended amounts of fat, salt and sugar for individual intake.
The initiative of the food safety department aims to promote healthy lifestyles and combat non-communicable diseases (NCDS).
As the children are more vulnerable to obesity and other non-Communicable diseases, officials hope that these boards with attractive cartoons would get attention among the students and easily convey the messages to them.
Thee campaign aims to educate students on basic food safety standards and methods for identifying food adulteration. The food safety officers of the concerned taluks are instructed to hold the campaign at the educational institutions at least once a week.
The awareness campaigns has been launched at all educational institutions following an order from Coimbatore district collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar.
Union Health Ministry, which launched the initiative, has asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN), who have prepared these 'sugar, salt and oil boards,' to suggest a model healthy meal that can be served in canteens and eateries of public institutions, instead of the current oily, salty and sugary meals and snacks.
This campaign has been initiated by the FSSAI under the tagline of 'Stop Obesity and Eat Right India' on social media. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has directed all affiliated schools to establish these boards.
The Food Safety department in Coimbatore district has been planning to implement it by this week. The designated officer for the Food Safety Department, Coimbatore district, Dr T Anuradha, said "Consumption of food products high in sugar, salt or fat (HFSS) is a leading factor for obesity and non-communicable diseases.
We have to combat rising health concerns like childhood obesity and type-2 diabetes, which have been linked to high sugar and oil intake. We place the awareness boards released by the FSSAI at the premises of all educational institutions. The FSOs will ensure the food safety standards are followed on the school campus and check the canteens."