Even big names in the food and beverage sector in India provide only a limited range of healthy products. This despite the fact that a huge population faces major nutrition challenges.
This startling fact has been published in the study India Access to Nutrition Spotlight Index conducted by Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) released in New Delhi last week.
Although companies are showing a greater understanding of – and a commitment to fighting – the enduring and mounting double burden of malnutrition, more innovative, healthy and affordable products need to be introduced.
Stating that consumer habits have shifted from the consumption of traditional food to packaged and processed foods, high in sugar, fat and salt, Kauer said, “Globally, India is among the top 10 consumers of fast food. This, coupled with the fact that India is set to become the third-largest consumer economy, presents an enormous opportunity for food and beverage companies to make nutrition a core part of their business plans, and to adopt comprehensive, public and commercial strategies to address issues related to the double burden of malnutrition in India.”
It was in 2016 that ATNI came out with its first study, which measured the nutrition-related policies and practices of India’s 10 largest food and beverage manufacturers.
This time, 16 companies that cover nearly a third of India’s food and beverage market, were taken into account. Though there’s been progress in the last four years, the ATNI stresses it is not sufficient to match the scale of the nutrition challenge that India faces.
Hardly a few companies provide evidence of tackling undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity challenges comprehensively in all relevant business areas, says the report.