AIIMS doctors call for front of pack labelling, scientific limits on sugar, salt and fats in junk food

If we want to control the diabetes epidemic in India, we have to actnow, the doctors said, adding that diabetics are likely to be at a greater risk of fatalities from COVID-19 New Delhi: Leading doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences have called for a systemic approach to manage the rapidly rising prevalence of diabetes in the country, with particular emphasis on policy actions to establish science-based limits on salt, sugar and saturated fats in packaged and ultra-processed food and beverages. This call to action was made at a national session on Tuesday, by AIIMS Jodhpur, on ‘Addressing Diabetes Mellitus through Front of Package Labelling in India.’ Participants included Dr Sanjeev Mishra, director, AIIMS, Jodhpur; Dr Rashmi Malhotra, senior dietician, Department of Diatetics, AIIMS Jodhpur; Dr Madhukar Mittal, additioal professor, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, AIIMS, Jodhpur; Dr Pradeep Aggarwal, associate professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine from AIIMS, Rishikesh and Dr Pankaj Bhardwaj, additional professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine, AIIMS, Jodhpur. Dr Aggarwal from AIIMS, Rishikesh, said that strong regulations to cap salt, sugar and other ingredients of concern and simple to understand front of package labelling on the food are critical to help consumers and parents understand how much empty calories and harmful nutrients are being consumed by children. Labels on the front of the package make it readily visible for consumers to read the ingredients, specifically, sugar, sodium and saturated fat, and can discourage the purchase of unhealthy packaged food.