An interministerial panel has recommended significant changes to the National Food Safety Act (NFSA) that the government would do well to implement. Noting that the COVID-19 With the pandemic likely to have “exacerbated the silent crisis” of malnutrition, the committee has made a strong case for giving the law more force. It has sought a legal mandate for the inclusion of high-protein foods such as eggs, nuts and legumes in nutrition schemes at school and anganwadi levels. Guidelines from programs such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme and the Midday Meal Scheme have protein-related standards but, by all accounts, most state governments have not done them adequate justice. Eggs, for example, are served at midday meals in just 13 states and three Union Territories. State governments often cited food sensitivities to oppose their inclusion in nutrition programs. The panel takes such reservations into account by proposing that “those who do not consume eggs can receive double the proposed amount of nuts and seeds.”
The committee’s report takes on urgency in light of the concerns documented by the National Family Health Survey-5. The percentage of anemic children up to the age of five, for example, has gone from 59% in the last survey to 65%. At the same time, obesity has increased in children of all ages. This clearly suggests unhealthy eating habits and the absence of micronutrients in diets. The interministerial committee has suggested a corrective. Instead of the NFSA’s purely calorie-focused approach, it recommends incorporating micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin A, and vitamin B2) into diets. This, as a 2021 study by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition and the University of Baltimore shows, could be as simple as mixing a powder of these dietary essentials into a small portion of your cooked midday meal and serving it up. like the first few bites. Care must be taken to ensure that the food includes healthy ingredients in the first place. In addition, anganwadis and schools must have adequate reserves of vitamin and mineral capsules. But a series of reports and surveys have revealed that this is not always the case. A legal mandate for micronutrients could be the first step in pressuring the Center and state governments to address this shortfall.
Despite being in place for more than nine years, the NFSA has, at best, led to marginal improvements in the nutritional status of people in much of the country. The adjustments proposed by the interministerial panel could be just what the doctor ordered.
This editorial first appeared in the print edition on July 6, 2022, under the headline ‘Nutrition dos’.
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