The government on Thursday said there is no proposal at present to stop television advertisements of junk food, PTI reported.

In a written reply, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani told the Lok Sabha that nine major food business companies had decided not to advertise products with high fat, salt or sugar on children’s channels. Minister of State Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore told the Lok Sabha that industry bodies such as the Food and Beverage Alliance of India and the Beverage Alliance of India have voluntarily decided to restrict food and beverage advertisements targeted at children.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India set up an expert group to address the matter, All India Radio quoted Irani as saying. “On this recommendation, the remarks of the FSSAI were that the food businesses could be asked to voluntarily desist from advertising high fat, sugar and salt foods on children’s channels.”