There is no definition for ‘junk food’ under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, and at present no proposal is under consideration for the same, Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, informed the Rajya Sabha here on Thursday.

“However, guidelines for making available wholesome, nutritious, safe and hygienic food to schoolchildren in the country have been framed by the Central Advisory Committee, FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India),” he said, as per an official statement.

The Minister also informed that no study had been conducted on junk food by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition which works under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The institute had, however conducted a study to assess the ill-effects of carbonated water beverages consumption on the health of adolescents and young adults, and the results showed higher increments of body fat in youngsters.

Naik stated that awareness programmes were jointly launched by the Consumer Affairs Ministry and the FSSAI, which include advertisements, social media campaigns, documentary films and mass awareness campaigns, through stalls during events and fairs.

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