Dr Madhukar Mittal (Additional Professor, Department of Endocrinology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur) stated that the evidence linking consumption of processed and packaged foods high in salt, sugar and fats – otherwise known as nutrients of concern – to diabetes, heart disease and various forms of cancer is irrefutable.

He further stated that “India is fast emerging as the diabetes capital of the world. Obesity is on the rise. The entire food system must act now to safeguard people’s health. The food industry tends to make its food products more palatable by adding excess sugar or salt. As a result, we are consuming unnatural levels of these harmful ingredients – far exceeding the recommended thresholds.”