| Updated: Feb 9, 2018, 05:29 IST
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday said there was no plan to Ban Telecast of Junk Food and soft drink advertisements on television.
Responding to a question by Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire whether the government was aware of a study that held TV advertisements responsible for the rise in junk food eating habits among people, I&B minister Smriti Irani told Lok Sabha that based on the recommendations of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the health ministry had said the food industry could be asked to “voluntarily desist from advertising on children’s channels”.
Oddly, the report of the expert group under FSSAI, which was put in the public domain on May 4, 2017, appeared to have urged the government to follow in the footsteps of other countries and impose a ban. The report said, “Advertisement ban for foods high in fat, salt and sugar during children’s TV shows or kids TV channels is urged.
In fact, we should progress towards total ban law as being done in a few other countries like Chile.

RELATED

From the Web

More From The Times of India