Chennai , Mar 10 Ingredients of food products and its nutritional value would have to be compulsorily listed on packets from March 19, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said here today.

” From March 19, it is mandatory that any food packet sold in India must have ingredients on one side (of the cover of food packets) while the other side must contain information on the nutritional value like calories and saturated fat,”he said at a function organised by Rotary Club of Madras here.

This was part of the ministry&aposs efforts to create more awareness on what to eat and what not to eat, he said.

Pointing out that junk food was contributing to juvenile diabetes, childhood obesity and hypertension, Ramadoss said”more needs to be done to enhance awareness”.

He said that a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing unit would come up at Chengelpet district in Tamil Nadu very soon.