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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee on Tuesday said her government would not implement any ban on snacks like samosas or jalebis, and clarified that there had been no such directive from the state.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bannerjee said, “Some media have reported that apparently samosas and jalebis cannot be consumed from now on, based on instructions from the (Union) Health Ministry. This is not a notification from the Government of West Bengal. We are not interfering in every matter. We shall not implement this.”
She added that such food items are popular across several states and governments should not interfere in people’s dietary habits.
The remarks came after sections of the media reported that the Union Health Ministry had recommended health warning labels on traditional Indian snacks high in sugar or fat, including samosas, jalebis, and laddoos.
Following the backlash, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a clarification stating that no advisory had been issued banning or requiring warning labels on these items. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) also termed such reports as "misleading, incorrect and baseless".
The Ministry said that a general health advisory had been shared with central government hospitals and institutions, encouraging the display of sugar, salt and fat content in food served in canteens and messes, but no food item was banned or labelled harmful.
BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya criticised Bannerjee’s remarks, stating that she was creating a false controversy. “Sitting in the Chief Minister’s chair with no real governance to offer, Mamata Banerjee has now taken to tweeting about fake issues,” he wrote on X.
He added that the Health Ministry had not issued any such ban and called the West Bengal CM’s statements an attempt to seek attention.
As of now, there is no proposal from the Centre to place warning labels or restrictions on food items such as samosas or jalebis.
