New Delhi, March 26 -- The growing consumption of ultra-processed food and aggressive marketing techniques by brands, such as pushing them to shelves labelled as healthy, have caught the government's eye. The Economic Survey 2024-25 highlighted the issue and suggested several corrective steps from awareness campaigns and stricter labelling to a 'health tax' to curb the excessive consumption of ultra-processed food.

Many ultra-processed foods have much more than the recommended daily intake of sugar, salt and fat, a Mint analysis of 21 products in seven categories showed. While breakfast cereals and flavoured yoghurt have extremely high sugar content, ready-to-make upma/poha flashed red on all three fronts: sugar, salt, and fat. Soya mill...