Maharashtra mandates healthier food in government canteens and official events

Maharashtra government mandates healthier food in all state canteens and official events. The directive promotes millet khichdi and sprouts curry while reducing processed items. Guidelines from ICMR-NIN and FSSAI will shape the new healthy menu options. This initiative aims to boost health awareness and reduce non-communicable diseases. Government departments must now include healthy menu provisions in catering contracts.

Millet khichdi, sprouts curry, solkadhi and other healthier food and beverages will now have to be made available at government canteens and official meetings and events across Maharashtra, under an order issued by the state Public Health Department on Wednesday.

The directive, issued through a Government Resolution (GR), also calls for a gradual reduction in ultra-processed foods and items containing excessive amounts of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.

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The "healthy menu" will be designed in line with guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), with an emphasis on food that is low in salt, sugar and oil.

The menu guidelines accompanying the GR recommend seasonal fruits, roasted or boiled chickpeas and peanuts, sprouts, vegetable poha, idli-sambar, vegetable upma, millet khichdi, boiled eggs, nuts and seeds for short meetings and refreshments.

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For beverages, the guidelines suggest coconut water, buttermilk, solkadhi, unsweetened milk, lemon water with limited sugar or jaggery, and unsweetened green or herbal tea.

For half-day or full-day programmes, the suggested menu includes jowar, bajra or ragi bhakri, multigrain chapati, hand-pounded or brown rice, dal or 'usal', leafy and seasonal vegetables cooked with limited oil, curd or buttermilk, salads, fruit instead of sweets, low-oil khichdi, vegetable pulao, paneer, sprouts-based curry, and properly cooked fish, chicken or mutton.

Government departments have also been asked to include specific provisions for healthy menus in new food and catering contracts.

A menu inspection committee will oversee implementation of the order in departmental canteens, while a nodal officer will also be appointed for the purpose. Periodic audits of canteens will be conducted in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration, the GR said.

Catering and food procurement contracts must also require nutritional information about food items to be displayed.

The move is aimed at increasing health awareness, reducing risk factors for non-communicable diseases and improving efficiency and productivity, the order said.

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The Public Health Department cited the rising incidence of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases in Maharashtra as a serious public health concern. It attributed the trend to changing lifestyles, sedentary work patterns, increasing stress, unbalanced diets and rising consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods.

The order applies to all Maharashtra government departments, directorates, commissioners' offices, district collectorates, Zilla Parishads, municipal corporations and municipalities, government training institutions, government-aided autonomous bodies and all government canteens.

(With inputs from PTI)