Collector S. Natarajan has advised the student community to avoid junk food, aerated drinks with artificial flavours and colours and adulterated food to lead a healthy life.
Addressing a ‘Food safety awareness programme’, organised by District Food Safety Wing of Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department at Syed Ammal Engineering College here on Thursday, he said the students should have a healthy lifestyle and should be careful in selecting their food items.
While consuming packed or preserved food items, they should check the ingredients, contents, expiry date and markings given by the food safety officials and create awareness of food safety among their families and friends.
Pointing out that the market was flooded with unbranded and low quality chocolates with attractive colours and banned tobacco products containing nicotine, he said these products were pushed into the market, targeting school and college students.
Teachers and parents of the students should keep an eye on the sale of these products, if any, near schools and colleges and bring it to the notice of police and food safety officials. Consumers had the right to examine all the products they bought, he said.
Licence necessary
All those who engaged in the sale of food products should obtain licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act by August 4 and consumers had the responsibility to check whether the shops and hotels obtained licence while purchasing food items from them, the Collector said.
Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose, District Designated Officer, Food Safety Wing, and food safety officers demonstrated how various food items and fruits such as tea, pepper, salt, oil, watermelon and pomegranate, were adulterated with artificial flavours and colours.
College Principal P. Marimuthu and Kilakarai Municipality Food Safety Officer S. Mohanraj were also present.
