Praneeta Prakash 
The Consumer Council has confirmed receiving complaints from consumers who claim they became ill after consuming food purchased from restaurants and other food outlets.
Chief Executive Seema Shandil confirmed this while making submissions before the Standing Committee on Social Affairs as concerns were raised over public health and unhealthy food marketing.
Shandil says while consumers often make their own dietary choices, there have been cases where individuals alleged they suffered illnesses after eating food from specific establishments.
“So whenever we get this kind of complaints we do flag to Ministry of Health and we do ask the consumers to get a medical report and we have some of the consumers have received compensation.”
However, she says that proving liability remains one of the biggest challenges in such cases.
The council also confirms that they are working closely with UNICEF and the Ministry of Health to strengthen measures around the promotion and marketing of unhealthy food products.
The council is also expected to have a meeting with UNICEF this week to further discuss strategies aimed at regulating unhealthy food marketing.
Meanwhile, committee members also raised concerns about hygiene and food safety standards across municipalities, suggesting the issue be taken up with municipal councils as part of broader public health oversight discussions.
