Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has instructed district collectors to install ‘Oil Board’ at Anganwadi centres (AWCs) and Child-Care Institutions (CCIs) to raise public awareness about health hazards of consuming foods cooked in excessive oil.
This comes two months after all government-run higher educational institutions were directed to strictly prohibit sale of unhealthy and junk food on campuses and display ‘Oil and Sugar’ boards on the walls of their canteens or cafeterias.
The moves followed concerns raised by the Health Department about the increasing consumption of fried snacks and street food, which medical studies have flagged as high in oil content and associated with risks of heart disease, obesity, liver problems, and hypertension.
Besides AWCs and CCIs, the recent directive from Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) stressed that ‘Oil Board’ should be put up in One-Stop Centres, Shakti Sadans, Shakti Nivas and other residential facilities run under the district administration
These boards must display the approximate quantity of oil absorbed by popular fried snacks such as samosas, pakoras, aloo chops and other deep-fried items, and outline possible health consequences when such foods are consumed regularly.
For greater reach, the information boards will be bilingual – in Odia and English.
The WCD added that these institutions must ‘encourage healthy food choices among the public’ and ‘print and display health-promoting messages to reinforce behavioural change.’
To avoid delays in implementation, the government has permitted institutions to meet the display and printing expenses from their available contingency funds. A prototype board design has also been provided for district-level reference.
