The Hindu Business Line : Majority of Indians non-vegetarian: Study

The majority of Indians, contrary to the popular perception, are non-vegetarian. About 64 per cent of households consume meat. Consumption of non-vegetarian food is very high in the South (92.2 per cent), while it is just 40.4 per cent in the North.

These are some of the findings of the National Institute of Nutrition's (NIN) `Knowledge, attitude, beliefs, practices study on food and drug safety in India.'

The study covered 20,719 households in 82 districts in 28 States.

The study was taken up as part of a World Bank-assisted capacity building project on food safety and quality control of drugs.

Ms Panabaka Lakshmi, Union Minister of State for Family Welfare and Health, released the report.

About 46 per cent of the people in the country don't check the expiry date when they buy drugs. And about 54 per cent don't know whom to complain to in case of food adulteration. Worse still, 29 per cent don't even bother to complain.

Presenting important findings of the study, Dr Kalpagam Polasa of NIN said that awareness levels were found to be low in a variety of aspects related to food and drug safety.

Only 63 per cent of the respondents said that they were in favour of disposable syringes and only 75 per cent of them insisted on buying them when they needed it.

The survey found that Western region reported highest prevalence of food-borne illnesses at 25 per cent. Maharashtra led the list, followed by Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

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