Issue of sugar content in baby food under parliamentary panel scanner

New Delhi: Sugar content in packaged baby foods, safeguarding consumer rights in the banking sector and rising prices of medicines are some of the issues that have come under the scanner of the parliamentary panels.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, chaired by DMK leader Kanimozhi, has decided to examine issues such as ensuring availability of essential commodities with a specific reference to petroleum and petroleum products and control measures to curb wastage of foodgrains in FCI godowns.

The Parliamentary Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers, chaired by Trinamool Congress leader Kirti Azad, has decided to examine issues such as price rise of medicines, self-sufficiency in production and availability of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), and performance of regulatory authorities for stringent control of spurious and fake medicines.

The committee will also examine the issue of setting up of plastic waste management centres and steps taken to minimise the use of plastic in the country and disinvestment of fertiliser PSUs.

The Committee on Consumer Affairs will examine the subject of regulation of packed commodities with specific reference to sugar content in baby products and other food products.

The committee has also decided to examine subjects such as storage of foodgrains: existing infrastructure and future strategy; transportation of foodgrains: optimising movement through railways and modernisation of Public Distribution System.

It will also examine ethanol and biofuel production from sugar, sugarcane and grains, safeguarding consumer rights in banking sector; role of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in upholding quality and standards and expanding the role of National Test House (NTH) in testing and calibration of products.