Health Ministry's Guidelines Spark Debate on Indian Food Heritage
In a nation where crispy samosas and syrup-drenched jalebis are as integral to our lives as monsoon showers and a passion for cricket, the Union Health Ministry has launched a significant challenge to the country's street food culture. A guideline issued by the ministry under the guise of health awareness, which threatens to disrupt our beloved breakfast tradition, has sparked anger, sarcasm, and resistance across the country. Last month, the Union Health Secretary caused a stir with a letter urging all ministries and departments to set up 'oil and sugar boards' in cafeterias and public areas, which would reveal the hidden fat and sugar content in samosas, jalebis, vada pavs, kachoris, as well as pizzas and burgers. However, the ministry later clarified that it did not intend to target any specific food item, but the impact had already been felt.
It was said that this guideline was issued due to the increasing obesity and non-communicable diseases in the country. A reputed medical journal like 'The Lancet' estimates that by 2050, the number of overweight people in India will increase to 44.9 crores, but this vague and Western view of health-based guideline had the opposite effect and a debate started on bureaucratic interference in cultural heritage. Why try to target samosas and jalebis?
When the real enemies of health like ultra-processed chips, colas and cookies, which have gone through industrial processes, are available in every supermarket, then why try to target samosas and jalebis? The guidelines also mention other food items with excessive use of oil and sugar, such as pakoras, gulab jamun, banana chips, etc. All these have been villainized like their Western counterparts, but Indian food items cannot be judged only in terms of calories. The famous Rajasthani dish Dal-Baati Churma with lentils and Baatis baked in ghee, Luchi (Puri)-Aloo Dum (Dum Aloo), Bengali dishes like Rasgulla and Sandesh or Mughlai Biryani and Korma are our cultural heritage. These are symbols of India's identity and each of these dishes has properties that improve our health - spices like turmeric and cumin increase our digestive capacity, while community feasts make us mentally healthy and rich. Issuing warnings on these dishes is like a blow to the centuries-old knowledge tradition and erasing the rich heritage of Indian food.
Similar guidelines were issued in other countries before us. In view of the increasing obesity, it has been made mandatory in Mexico to issue warnings on high sugar, high fat products like soda and chips since 2020. Britain is thinking of imposing higher taxes on high sugar beverages, while the Health Promotion Board in Singapore instructs its citizens to stay away from fried noodles soaked in oil. There is one thing common in these warnings issued abroad. All of these target processed products like soda, fries, doughnuts, all sold in beautiful packaging by corporate giants, but the Health Ministry's guidelines targeting street foods in India seem like a hoax - as if the beautifully wrapped samosas of a roadside vendor are as harmful as the Big Mac (McDonald's hamburger). Burgers (1377 calories in a 471 gram pizza), French fries (342 calories in 117 grams) and chocolate pastries (32 grams of sugar in a pastry weighing the same as a gulab jamun) are no less harmful, but they have not been targeted, why? Perhaps because Indian dishes like curry, dosa, idli, parantha and biryani have made their mark from London's curry houses to New York's dosa shops and no one has a problem with it there.
Flood of sarcastic reactions on social media
The sarcastic reactions on the Health Ministry guidelines are worth seeing on social media, one person wrote on Instagram, 'Health alert like cigarette issued on samosas and jalebis in India'. Another person expressed the irony associated with it and wrote, 'Samosa and jalebi are becoming popular in the western world, but they are being targeted in our home.' Another comment read, 'You do not eat samosa and jalebi for better health, you eat them for pleasure,' Samosa and jalebi are not just food items, they are the joy of Diwali evening, the sweetness of Eid, the warmth with tea on rainy days, targeting them is targeting the soul of India.
The government guidelines directed by AIIMS, Nagpur smack of western discourse of giving importance to calories, while ignoring the importance of fried and spicy Indian dishes. An expert rightly criticized this guideline on Instagram and wrote, 'Ultra processed foods are the real enemies of our health' What harm have samosas and jalebis done to you?' The failure of the Health Ministry to differentiate between cultural heritage and junk food of corporate companies shows that our government officials educated abroad are not aware of the lives of ordinary Indians. Then this guideline is even more disappointing when we find that the performance of Indians on the health front is satisfactory.
The life expectancy of Indians has increased from 63.7 years in the year 2000 to 76 years in 2024, compare it with Nigeria (54.7 years) and America (77.5 years), where obesity and increasing trend of drug abuse have become a crisis, in India people are giving more importance to yoga and prefer home-cooked food. Behind this dedication of Indians towards health, there is less government initiative and more awareness of people and society. People of this country know when to enjoy jalebi and when to eat samosas together. The guidelines of the Health Ministry have spread more confusion instead of creating awareness. Instead of putting up warning boards, it is more important to curb ultra-processed foods and let people enjoy their traditional foods in peace.