Health experts demand pictorial warnings on junk food packets

Health experts on Thursday demanded pictorial and health warnings on junk food packets in order to provide information to people on health issues caused by them.

The demand was made by a panel of experts from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), AIIMS, the Public Health Foundation of India and the National Institute of Nutrition.

The major objective behind constituting the panel was to check the prevalence of data on consumption of high fat, sugar and salt and give recommendations to reduce the health complications caused by excess consumption of junk food.

"We have recommended pictorial warnings on junk foods like chips, colas, pizzas, burgers or health warnings saying that this product contains fat and salt in excess of what is recommended or even a picture of liver may on pack indicating that consuming them may led to fatty liver in children and adults," said Vandana Jain, additional professor of paediatrics at AIIMS.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the best way to prevent childhood obesity was by restrictions on marketing of unhealthy food including biscuits and potato chips.

Medical experts say children having fatty liver are at risk of liver cirrhosis, which may require transplantation as final solution.