Over the past few decades, air pollution and climate change have become major global concerns. Air pollution has many detrimental effects that pose a threat to global public health in terms of significant disease burden as well as mortality. It is disturbing that...

Cheese is a creamy, tangy, versatile delight that can elevate any dish and melt our hearts and taste buds in seconds. However, it is often thought to have negative effects on our health. With a little mindfulness, you can make healthier choices when it comes to this...

In the diverse and vibrant landscape of India, consumer-related issues have emerged as a critical facet of daily life. As the nation progresses economically and the consumer market expands, individuals face a range of challenges that demand attention and proactive...

Consumers are finding themselves in a wide online landscape in an era of digital convenience. Although there are many advantages of the internet, it is important to stay vigilant against such practices commonly referred to as dark patterns. These subtle design choices...

Imagine a bag of chips. The label might list a serving size as 28 grams, but let's be honest, who stops at just that? That's where portion size comes in. It's the amount of food you choose to eat, which can be more or less than a serving size. Think of a serving size...

As I navigated the bustling supermarket aisles, my attention was drawn to the vibrant array of NutriBars lining the shelves. Each bar boasted enticing claims, from "high protein" to "low sugar”, but the sheer variety and conflicting messages left me feeling...

National Consumer Day is observed annually on December 24th in India, marking the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It emphasizes awareness of consumer rights, responsibilities, and the significance of protection. The Act was a pivotal step in...

Shifting away from dependence on the 'Big Food' industry to boost millet production and consumption, policies should emphasize integrating millets into government food schemes. Highlighting the limitations of Production Linked Incentives in realizing millets'...

One of the greatest medical discoveries of the 20th century, antibiotics have saved countless lives by efficiently treating bacterial infections around the globe. However, the overuse and abuse of antibiotics have given rise to a formidable adversary, antibiotic...

With an increasing number of affected couples, recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) has become a widespread reproductive health problem. Clinically, it is defined as the loss of three or more pregnancies before the foetus reaches viability. It affects approximately 3...

Are you aware of what goes into that essential ingredient that forms the foundation of countless Indian meals? Yes, we're talking about aata, the versatile flour that brings us the beloved rotis, chapatis, and parathas. But have you ever stopped to consider the...

Does India need freebies from the government to survive? What is now popularly called the ‘freebie politics’ has its own economic implications. As the proverb goes there are no free lunches, freebies in the form of free units of power can be detrimental for the...

A new field of study was opened in 1984 when Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys generated the first genetic fingerprint in his lab at the University of Leicester. Talking about his discovery, Sir Alec said, "My life changed on Monday morning at 9.05 am, 10 September 1984....

उपभोक्ता शिक्षा और जागरूकता में 40 वर्षों से काम कर रही है कंस्यूमर वॉयस कंस्यूमर वॉयस लगातार 40 वर्षों से उपभोक्ता शिक्षा और जागरूकता के क्षेत्र में संघर्षरत एक स्वयंसेवी संस्था है। वॉयस लगातार भारत में उपभोक्ताओं के लिए उनके उपभोक्ता अधिकारों के संघर्ष कर रही है।...

There is no particular date on which we launched VOICE in April 1983 at the Delhi School of Economics campus at Delhi University. There was no launch ceremony or event. It was born out of the drafting of a complaint by VOICE signed by me and about 30 of my students....

Every year we observe March 8 as International Women’s Day. According to the Unite Nations, the purpose of this day is to uphold women's achievements, recognize challenges, and focus greater attention on women's rights and gender equality. The state of women's health...

Makhana, also known as Foxnut, is a widely consumed snack during fasting in India. It is becoming a popular snack among health-conscious consumers due to its healthier nutrient. Makhana is mixed with different seasoning and flavouring substances, and a range of ready...

If you go through food labels, you must have come across maltodextrin in the ingredient list. It is a commonly used ingredient in processed packaged foods. Maltodextrin has several applications in the food industry, has some health benefits but it has also been...

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has initiated the Eat Right India movement. The movement is based on three key themes, ‘if it’s not safe, it’s not food’ (safe food), ‘food should not only serve the palate but is also meant for body and mind’...

Chocolates are either critiqued to have negative impact on health or are portrayed by the marketers to have health benefits especially dark chocolates. The truth is that the composition of every chocolate is different from the other one, and this along with the amount...

Diet sodas are a popular beverage all over the world, among people of all ages who are anxious to reduce their sugar or calorie intake. Instead of sugar, artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, cyclamates, saccharin, acesulfame-k, or sucralose, are used to sweeten...

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in association with the Smart Cities Mission under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) recently announced the winners of the EatSmart Cities Challenge. The 11 winning cities include...

Summers are here, and accordingly we must make some dietary changes in this season to adapt to the heat. Summer calls for a diet which helps us to cool down our body temperatures. As temperature rise, we tend to sweat more in summers therefore keeping ourselves...

Munching between meals is often seen as an unhealthy habit. Mostly because the snacks we usually munch on are unhealthy and could be high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt, and low in essential micronutrients. But it is wrong to think that inter-meal munching is a bad...

Food safety is one of the major determinants of a sound and cohesive healthcare system in a country. As food chains are becoming longer, complex and globalized, contamination of food leading to food borne diseases is a growing concern. Unsafe food not only poses a...

Will eating more plant-based or vegan meat benefit both our health and the environment?  This question has been a debatable and an ongoing one. People believe that plant-based meat could be a sustainable answer to global environmental concerns. However, many...

Since 1983, March 15th has been celebrated as World Consumer Rights Day. It is the day when the US President, John F Kennedy sent the message to the US Congress in 1962 outlining the four fundamental consumer rights - the right to safety, the right to be informed, the...

Food is an integral part of our life and thus there has always been an exclusive focus on what we eat. Unless the food we eat is safe, we become vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, which in turn reduces our ability to absorb nutrients, fight infections thereby,...

Intro: India is one of the largest consumer markets for malt-based drinks in the world. Malt-based products are marketed as ‘health drinks’ and are specifically targeted at children, and their parents. They are often marketed as an essential product that provides...

It is increasingly becoming apparent that high consumption of salt, sugar and fat is one of the prime reasons behind the risk of developing lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc writes Shri Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI. Not all fats...

Is your food coming from a hygiene-rated eatery? The past 18 months have taught us many things besides cooking. And there we saw, a sharp increase in ordering food online just after the situation started getting better. While cooked food delivered at home has been...