Govt Denies Crackdown on Samosa, Jalebi with ‘Sugar, Fats’ Labels: ‘Not Targeting India's Rich Street Food Culture’
INDIA, JUL 14 – The campaign aims to raise awareness about health risks of popular snacks by installing warning boards in central institutions, addressing obesity linked to 80% of non-communicable disease deaths in India.
- On July 14, 2025, the Union Health Ministry launched the 'oil and sugar boards' campaign at AIIMS Nagpur to highlight unhealthy snack content.
- In a June 21 letter, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava warned of surging obesity, noting 80% of NCD deaths and echoing Modi’s call for a 10% reduction.
- At AIIMS Nagpur, cafeterias will soon display warning posters with sugar, fat and trans fat details, though rollout across institutions demands coordination and funding.
- Expert voices highlighted Amar Amale said 'It's the beginning of food labelling becoming as serious as cigarette warnings', while Dr. Sunil Gupta added 'This isn’t about banning food'.
- Looking ahead, projections from the Lancet GBD 2021 study foresee overweight adults rising from 18 to nearly 44.9 crore by 2050, and the campaign is set to expand in the coming months.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Govt denies crackdown on samosa, jalebi with ‘sugar, fats’ labels: ‘Not targeting India's rich street food culture’
The ministry has also clarified that the advisory was about ‘display of Boards in various workplaces…to raise awareness on harmful consumption of hidden fats and excess sugar in various food items’.
Milind Deora said that obesity is a rapidly growing problem in India and it can become a social and economic challenge in the future. He praised the 'anti-obesity' campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but also stressed that the rules for Indian and foreign junk food should be the same.
Ministries, depts asked to display oil, sugar content in snacks like samosa, pizza
New Delhi: The Union health ministry has urged all ministries and departments to instal displays of boards mentioning the sugar and oil content in snacks such as samosa, kachori, pizza, burger, french fries, soft drinks, gulab jamun and vadapav to promote healthy lifestyles and combat obesity and non-communicable diseases. It has also called for printing health messages on all official stationery such as letterheads, envelopes, notepads, folders…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left, 43% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
