India moves closer to restricting junk food sales near schools

…Rajit Punhani, the chief executive of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which is driving the changes, said the "safe food" schools plan aimed to steer children away from unhealthy habits early on. " We have to discourage children from having these. We have to inculcate this habit ," he told Reuters. "It will not have an impact on businesses in a major way. Shop owners can sell non-HFSS foods," he added, saying regulations are aimed at nudging companies to reformulate recipes. There is no fixed…

…the western state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, has taken a stricter approach - no shop within 50 metres of schools can carry such products, state food safety commissioner Tukaram Mundhe told Reuters. " There will be hundreds of such shops near schools. How will one regulate if they are selling to schoolchildren or not? Shops cannot stock these items ," said Mundhe. State data accessed by Reuters showed inspectors have so far found violations at 133 shops within 50 metres of schools, and ordered 51 to discontinue their business. INDUSTRY WOES The Confederation of…

…of many products in Chile. "If the law were ineffective and consumers did not change their behaviour, producers would not push back," said Guillermo Paraje, a professor at Adolfo Ibáñez Business School in Chile. " They know the law will make them reformulate as much as they can. " Published on September 24, 2026…