Dr Vardhan Appeals To Make ‘Eat Right Mela’ A Jan-Andolan
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare inaugurated the second edition of the ‘Eat Right Mela’ today at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. He stressed upon the importance of having a right kind of food and appealed to make ‘Eat Right Mela’ a Jan Andolan to reduce the disease burden in the country.
Dr. Vardhan stated that ‘Eat Right Melas’ be part of public gatherings like local melas, and other community programs. It will educate the citizens about health and nutrition benefits of different types of food. Such programs should focus on dietary advice by experts, live demonstration of food recipes, engage in dialogues and conversations with food visionaries and experts.
Speaking about the increasing burden of obesity and malnutrition in India , Dr. Vardhan said, “India, on one side, is suffering from under-nourishment resulting in infirmities such as wasting and stunting and on the other side, there is another critical area of concern to be addressed i.e. obesity, which is apparently the result of excessive consumption of junk food, wrong choices of food, overeating and lack of exercise. At the same time, the rise of diet related diseases suggests that people are eating less healthy food than they were eating a decade ago. In this context, the movement of ‘Eat Right India’ started by FSSAI is a timely initiative”.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also handed over 3 mobile food testing vans (CNG enabled) to Shri. D N Singh, the Commissioner of Food Safety, Government of NCT, Delhi during the inaugural ceremony.
The Union Minister also launched ‘The PURPLE Book’ a handbook on diets for diseases. The book provides general guidelines for hospitals on suitable diets for common medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, gut disorders and so on in a simple format. This book is available for free download on www.fssai.gov.in.
At the event Dr Harsh Vardhan also launched NetSCoFAN (Network for Scientific Co-operation for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition). It is a network of research & academic institutions working in the area of food & nutrition along with the NetSCoFAN directory, covering detailed information of various heads/Directors and lead scientists.
The NetSCoFAN would comprise of eight groups of institutions working in different areas like biological, chemical, nutrition & labelling, food of animal origin, food of plant origin, water & beverages, food testing, and safer & sustainable packaging.
FSSAI has identified eight Nodal Institutions who would develop a ‘Ready Reckoner’. They will have inventory of all research work, survey, experts and institutions. It would identify research gaps in respective areas. They would collect, collate and develop database on food safety issues for risk assessment activities.
