Nowadays, many types of packed foods are coming in the market, which companies claim to be healthy. Some say it is natural and some say it is full of energy. But these products should not be blindly trusted. A surprising report from ICMR has come out regarding such a product.
New Delhi: The expert committee of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has suggested that the amount of sugar in packed food and beverages be fixed. Food containing excess sugar, fat and salt should be avoided. This can have a bad effect on health. Ultra-processed foods (UPF) usually contain high amounts of sugar and salt.
Sugar-free foods can be full of fat
ICMR said that many products that claim to be sugar-free may actually contain high amounts of fat. Whereas packed fruit juice contains only 10% fruit pulp. In recently released guidelines, ICMR said that health claims on packaged food are designed only to grab the attention of consumers and tell them that the product is healthy.
The information given on the label may be misleading
Hyderabad based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) under ICMR has issued dietary guidelines for Indians. “The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has strict standards, but the information on labels can be misleading,” NIN said.
It was said in the guidelines that there should be limited use of such food items including jams, fruit pulp, carbonated beverages, health drinks. Food items with high fat, sugar and salt should not be consumed even at home.
Expert committee issued guidelines
ICMR guidelines state that regular consumption of ultra-processed food can lead to serious diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases. Many people like to eat ultra processed foods rich in calories, the amount of fiber in such foods is less and the amount of sugar is more than required.
Highly fried products should also be avoided. The National Institute of Nutrition and ICMR have also suggested setting limits on the amount of sugar in packaged food and beverages.
The amount of added sugar and total sugar in packaged food should be decided. It is recommended to set limits on the amount of sugar in cool drinks, packaged juices, cookies, cakes, health drinks to address the potential dangers of excessive sugar consumption.
Earlier, in the guidelines issued by ICMR and NIN, it was said that carelessness in eating and drinking is causing many diseases. Diseases like diabetes, fatty liver, blood pressure can be avoided by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Eating too much fat is very harmful.
Labels, ingredients and other information should be read carefully
NIN said the term ‘natural’ is often used even if packaged foods contain only one or two natural ingredients. In such a situation, it can be misleading, so it is important for people to read the content and other information carefully. For better health, carefully check the claims made on the labels of packed food.
NIN offered some examples of label statements that may be misleading. On the claim of ‘real fruit and fruit juice’, NIN said that as per FSSAI regulations, if any food item has a small quantity, for example, a fruit juice product has only 10% fruit added to it, then it should not say or It is allowed to state that the product is made from real fruit pulp or juice.
NIN said claims like made with whole grains, organic and sugar-free may also be misleading.
Was asked to remove products like Bournvita from health drink category
Earlier last month i.e. in April, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had asked all e-commerce companies to remove all beverages including Bournvita from the category of ‘health drinks’ from their websites and platforms.
The authority had also asked not to misuse terms like health drink and energy drink to increase sales of any beverage.