Junk food and sugary drinks get costlier as FSSAI calls for fat tax

The proposal by the Indian food ombudsman has not gone down well with the companies and restaurants

As a practical method to curb the increase of sedentary lifestyle conditions and disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and the blot of hypertension, India’s food regulator, The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on Monday proposed to impose an additional fat tax on all packaged products, processed food and sweetened beverages. 

Although FSSAI did not specify the quantum of tax to be levied, the FSSAI panel also recommended a slew of measures, including ban on advertisements and promotion of junk food on children’s television channels, websites and social media networks and strict labelling norms for products with high