What can the government and health authorities do?
Health and dental departments and the National Centre for Health Promotion can conduct awareness workshops and seminars for teachers, heads of schools and school managements. Community awareness is equally vital. Radio programs are effective means of disseminating information to the rural community. Health teams can advise schools and parents on the type of food canteens should sell. Dental and health checks should not only be confined to primary schools. They must also be conducted in high schools. The health department must check products sold in supermarkets and in school canteens regularly. Products without much consumer information, ingredient, expiry dates and country of origin must be removed. The government needs to immediately place a ban on junk food being dumped in Fiji. This has gone unchecked resulting in a kind of acceptance by consumers. The prosecution of wholesalers and retailers who sell and promote cheap, fake and junk food must be pursued by the government if we wan
