MAHARASHTRA’S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale, advertisement, and free distribution of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) within 50 metres of school premises to promote healthy eating habits among children. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Wednesday the order will be strictly enforced across the state, adding that every school kitchen operator and food supplier to schools should have licenses under food safety regulations. He said the move to ban the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high-fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items is part of efforts to promote healthy eating habits among children. “Within school premises and up to 50 metres from the school compound, the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high-fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items is completely banned by the FDA.

 

It will be implemented strictly,” Mundhe told reporters here. He said the State Government issued a compliance order on July 27 to enforce food safety and nutritional standards across educational institutions, a move that will cover nearly two crore students studying in about 1.08 lakh schools in Maharashtra. The guidelines apply to all Government, Government-aided and private schools affiliated to any education board, with no institution exempt from the provisions, he said. HC ASKS MAH GOVT TO GIVE DETAILS OF FDA INSPECTIONS AT STATE-RUN CANTEENS, EATING PLACES: The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra Government to provide details of the inspections conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at canteens and food establishments run by government, semi-government institutions and statutory authorities in the State during its ongoing drive.

 

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad directed the state to submit a report by July 31 detailing the inspections carried across the State, including canteens operated directly or on a contract basis with Government departments. The bench is hearing a petition filed by Sanjay Nirbhavane, HR head of a five-star hotel in Navi Mumbai. The hotel has challenged the suspension of its Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence for alleged violations under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.