Fast and harmful

Fast-food chains and restaurants are opening up everywhere across the country, and that growth is starting to worry public health experts. Fast food is cheap, quick, and tasty – but it often lacks basic nutrients, and eating it regularly can hurt the body over time. Doctors link it to heart problems, including heart attacks, cardiac arrest, and clogged arteries. Much of its flavour comes from artificial colours and flavourings, and in the rush to cut costs, hygiene and safe cooking practices are sometimes ignored altogether. Many processed foods rely on chemical preservatives like sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and MSG. Processed meats such as bacon, ham, and hot dogs are treated with sodium nitrates and nitrites, which give the meat its appealing pink colour -without them, it would look duller and less fresh. Regular consumption of these products has been linked to metabolic problems, which is why fresh meat remains the safer choice over heavily processed alternatives. Too much salt and too much fried food only add to the problem. One report found that people who eat fried food four to six times a week face a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Palm oil, widely used in fast food, becomes especially harmful once it’s hydrogenated into trans fat. Trans fats help food last longer on the shelf, but they raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, increasing the risk of blood clots and heart disease. Refined grains, stripped of fibre and nutrients, digest quickly and cause sharp spikes in blood sugar and insulin. Even artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose- marketed as “diet-friendly” – may push some people to crave more sweet food than they otherwise would. Then there’s the water problem. Some brands sell what is essentially tap or well water as “mineral water,” bottling it with little to no real treatment and labelling it as pure and natural. If true, this misleads consumers and puts their health at risk over something as basic as drinking water. Before any bottle reaches the public, the water inside it should be tested, filtered, and stored properly – and its label should tell the truth. Authorities need to check not just the final product, but the source and treatment process behind it. A nice bottle and a clean label are not the same thing as safety. Unhygienic food preparation is just as serious. In some kitchens, utensils are washed in dirty water and food is stored in unsafe conditions. Inspectors need to enforce hygiene rules strictly, and kitchen staff should be required to hold health certifications. This isn’t a hypothetical worry. In early August 2026, food safety officials inspected 26 three- and five-star hotels in Bengaluru – including The Lalit Ashok, Shangri-La, Four Seasons, Vivanta Whitefield, Taj Yeshwantpur, and Radisson Blu Atria – and found rotten meat, fish, and vegetables, some of it stored for over a year. The worst case, at Radisson Blu Atria, involved 105 kg of expired chicken, meat, fish, and vegetables. This wasn’t a rumour on social media; it was a documented, corroborated inspection. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) must hold vendors, restaurants, and bottled-water companies to real standards, and penalties or even imprisonment for serious violations which should be enforced firmly. Affordable food and water matter, but they should never come at the cost of people’s health. Public safety has to come before profit.