Enough has been written
about the Maggi controversy, where multiple government labs across country have
found more than permissible lead and MSG. The resultant PR disaster from Nestle
end, confusion and nationwide recall of one of the most popular products in the
country is likely to become a case study in business schools.
However, there is
something else as important as the controversy about harmful substances. It is
that Maggi noodles, or for that matter any instant noodles, are not healthy for
you in any case, with or without lead and MSG. It is time we have a new,
simplified classification system and scale for junk versus healthy food.
Eating refined starch
that is processed, dried and kept for months with the help of chemical
preservatives is unlikely to be good for you. The ads may be extremely moving
emotionally, the brand ambassador could be highly credible, and the soupy
noodles might taste really good. It is still not good for you.
Hence, even with no MSG
or lead, Maggi’s tagline of “Taste Bhi, Health Bhi”, was only half correct, former
than latter. Any nutritional expert will tell you eating instant noodles for
health is about as funny and implausible as using a cheap deodorant to attract
dozens of women.
Of course, the noodles
won’t kill you. Our diet today has plenty of other unhealthy things as well.
For instance, almost all Indian mithais are unhealthy. As are many of our gravy
‘delicacies’. We give up health benefits of food in favour of cost, convenience
or taste. Same goes for all the wafers and chips and aerated cool drinks, list
goes on…
Such compromises are
acceptable to an extent. However, if done in excess they can lead to major
health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
How does one limit
unhealthy food then? The problem comes when junk is marketed as healthy. Our
advertising standards for food are extraordinarily lax. Junk food manufacturers
not only hide the nature of their food, but also position them as health filled
alternatives. Armed with ads of beaming mothers feeding sparkly kids, we have
junk marketed as emotional nectar every day.
In other sectors, such
nonsensical advertising would never be allowed. In financial services there
have to be a ton of disclaimers reminding investors of the market risk they
take. In cigarettes, we have pictures of blackened lungs on the packs. But
packets of potato chips don’t bear the picture of an obese heart patient, right?
Food — be it for
nourishment or pleasure — has positive associations for us. Any food is good
and the kind of food doesn’t seem to matter. Perhaps this comes from a time
when India was poorer and food was scarce. When we worked 12 hours a day in the
fields and could eat and burn as many calories as we wanted. This was also when
processed food from big corporations didn’t exist.
However, times have
changed. Physical labour is reducing and we don’t burn off calories as easily.
Hence, we need to monitor our food intake carefully. If a big part of our diet
has to come from packaged food, we need to understand and label it accordingly.
Of course, nutritional
values are provided for most packaged food products today. However, to the
average person it is a jumble of tiny font text and numbers. Even if you were
to read the data, what would you make of it? Is it healthy food or junk food?
Or is it healthy but only in moderation?
Should there not be any
indication or label on the packet that indicates the goodness or unhealthiness
of it to health –similar to the way it is mentioned on cigarette packet or
liquor bottle?
The future generation of
country is getting spoiled and parents are either unaware of the harm these
processed/packaged foods are carrying or too busy to bother about it. A healthy
society leads to lower healthcare costs, improved productivity at work and a
better quality of life for citizens. Food is a big part of public health. About
time we knew what we are buying and putting in our mouths.
