Paying attention to our packaged food

On food labelling and misleading claims, weight loss drugs, climate change, rabies, cancer care, and more

(In the weekly Health Matters newsletter, Ramya Kannan writes about getting to good health, and staying there. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)

This past week, as with the previous week, the nation continues to be concerned with food labelling. With the Supreme Court bringing up the packaged food labelling issue up again, a couple of weeks ago, it has been surely and firmly dragged into the public platform. There has been a great deal of interest in the Food Safety and Standards Association of India’s recommendations on front-of-pack labels, and debate about the merits of the case.

What are these standards that FSSAI promises to hold the packaged food in India up to? We took a long,hard look.

For an idea of what the whole FSSAI submission on labelling was, initially, check out this conversation between Zubeda Hamid and I; we also indicate trends worldwide, in Sunday’s Health Wrap video. While appreciable that some standards have come to play in this entirely unregulated sector, there are questions about the caveats in the proposed recommendations. FSSAI has proposed that the warning initially apply to products high in two or more of the three “nutrients of concern” — added sugar, added saturated fat and salt — as well as specified highly sweetened beverages. Activists find the “two or more” classification problematic.

For a more detailed explanation on what the Red hexagon on your snack pack means, read what Bindu Shajan Perappadan wrote. FSSAI has proposed a two-phase rollout. In the first phase, products high in at least two of the three nutrients would carry the red hexagon, along with specified highly sweetened beverages. In the second phase, the warning would extend to products high in any one of the three nutrients. However, FSSAI has not specified a firm timeline for moving to the second phase. The FSSAI proposal refers to added sugar and added saturated fat, rather than total sugar and total fat. The plan is to exempt single-ingredient foods and products inherently rich in these nutrients, including ghee, edible oil, jaggery and honey.

Meanwhile, Soibam Rocky Singh explains why the Central Consumer Protection Authority is cracking down on ‘100%’ claims on food products. Such claims can give consumers an impression of absolute purity or completeness that may not match what is actually inside the packet. The FSSAI has also asked food businesses to stop using “100%” claims on food labels, packaging and promotional material.

Here, Prabalika M. Borah examines the hype behind Proffee: protien+coffee, and here are the highlights of an ICMR-NIN study which shows that Vitamin D3 outperforms D2 in supporting muscles and heart.

Close on the nutrition topic is weight loss drugs. A recent study showed that GLP-1 weight loss drugs are effective even at low starter doses, with lower side effects. Yet another study in the United States showed that more children under 12 in U.S. are being prescribed weight-loss drugs. Prescriptions for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs among children under 12 in the U.S. have risen more than 300-fold since 2019.

Here is a supervised experiment of a fitness coaching putting himself through a GLP 1 course, recording minute observations through the course. Arvind Ashok writes: ‘I’m a fitness coach. I tried a GLP-1 drug for three weeks’, issuing a statutory warning to readers not to attempt the same at home without a prescription.

Climate change will also never be further than a beck and call away. It has dominated headlines periodically, and likely will be even more frequent in future. Jacob Koshy writes: Global warming will exceed limit, UN says in a report that maps path to get back below danger zone. UNEP’s detailed ‘overshoot, peak and decline’ pathway seeks to hold the peak as low as possible and then bring temperatures back down below the 1.5°C limit; report terms it ‘best remaining option’.

Yet another new study highlights the life-saving role of air conditioning, but indicates that it comes at a cost. Do check this story out, for the details: Keeping cool saves thousands of lives yearly, but at a cost of worsening global warming, experts say.

On the rabies front, there was some exciting news in the region. I record how Bhutan leads South-East Asia in eliminating rabies as public health problem. The WHO also validated Bhutan’s claim and explained that this was achieved through conscious of deployment of the One Health approach, affording some key lessons for neighbour India too.

Meanwhile, Authorities are probing ‘counterfeit’ rabies vaccine, and the counterfeit ‘Abhayrab’ rabies vaccine batch remains under investigation. Why is this important? With rabies, the margin for error is exceptionally small. A genuine, potent vaccine administered promptly can prevent a fatal disease; a counterfeit product can create the dangerous illusion that protection has been provided.

On dogs, segueing into cancer, we had an interesting article this week on whether dogs can sniff cancer? Bengaluru-based startup Dognosis is using AI to analyse dogs’ brain activity, respiration and body language, turning their reaction to scent into data. Click on the link to learn more.

Dr. Jayanth Reddy meanwhile wrote on how transplant oncology is rewriting the story of liver cancer, and why surgeons, instead of trying to cut the cancer out of the liver, remove the entire diseased liver and replace it with a healthy one.

In the In Focus podcast, there’s a discussion with Dr. Narayana Subramanian about cancer ‘vaccines’ and if will they revolutionise treatment. What are these new therapies and what cancer do they treat? Why are they called vaccines when they don’t actually prevent cancer? How does mRNA tech work and how is AI helpful in this? Will these personalised treatments be available in India any time soon and how expensive will they be?

And for that little bit extra, do take a look at this week’s links of health stories that moved the world in their own ways:

Athira Elssa Johnson speaks to experts and clarifies: Not all types of dementia cause memory loss: what happens when it strikes early

C. Maya highlights an important trend: Fading fear of HIV puts focus on rising STI risks among youth in Keralam

Sumit Bhattacharjee explains Why have people fallen sick after Chloroquine administration in Andhra Pradesh

As we come to the close of eye donation awareness week, here is an article from Dr. Mohan Rajan and Dr. Sujatha Mohan on Eye donation in India: current scenario and way forward

Attempt our Health Quiz for the week: On your eyes and their health

Swaminathan S. A first step towards a universal vaccine against pneumonia, meningitis

Dr. Shakeeb Ahmed Khan and Dr. Christianez Ratna Kiruba ask if accessible rehabilitation is available to all, particularly post discharge from hospital

Dr. C. Aravinda advises that In child sexual abuse, one needs to focus on healing the survivor

Did you know, in addition to being dazzling on stage, Dolly Parton also dazzled the world of health care with substantial donations: Jolene, vaccine and cancer research — the enduring scientific legacy of Dolly Parton

India’s 40-crore ‘missing middle’: caught between weak public healthcare and costly private care

IIT Madras and CMC Vellore researchers build AI tools for early kidney disease detection

Tamil Nadu and Kerala have appreciably taken women’s health Out of neglect bin. Read the edit here.

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