DC Edit | Half-baked Govt Food Advisory

A government consultation, which proposed the establishment of oil and sugar boards in various offices by the Ministry of Health on June 21, 2025, began a furoree about a month later, and critics described it as an attempt to target the Indian street food sellers.

Although the consultation only contains the drawings of oil and sugar boards, they often described Indian foods, except for products such as pizza, hamburger, chocolate, ice cream, fries and jam. This triggered the debate on social media, where the government was criticized for allegedly required warning labels for Jalebi, Samosa and Laddu.

The reaction was so intense that instead of clarifying the real content of consultancy, the government rejected social media messages as false news. A day later, the government made a statement about the initiative. He said that consultancy aims to push people to eat healthier nutrition by raising awareness about the harmful effects of hidden fats and excessive sugar in various foodstuffs.

Excessive oil and sugar consumption makes an important contribution to the proportions of other diseases related to increased obesity, diabetes, hypertension and lifestyle.

Only the economic impact of obesity was $ 28.95 billion in 2019. This figure is expected to increase to 81.53 billion dollars by 2050. The cost is expected to rise to $ 838.6 billion by 2060.

It is aimed to establish the Boards within the scope of Food Safety and Standards Authority of the Eat Right India program, which was initiated in July 2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, During the Baat address last month, he called on people to reduce the oil in food by 10 percent. Previously, he encouraged people to switch to the righteousness, which was considered a healthier grain than rice or wheat.

Although the government has been working with a long -term strategy, the Ministry of Health’s decision to add examples led to a serious return. Just like culture and language, eating closely depends on people’s hearts and votes. Therefore, the authorities should pay more attention to future messaging.