Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ) of Some Selected Indian Snacks

Recent years have witnessed a spurt in the growth of fast foods otherwise known as convenience foods, triggered by increasing urbanization and industrialization. More and more people are going for instant and ready to eat foods. The phenomenon of the 'Working women' has given rise to a growing middle class, which has increasingly started switching to processed, packed and ready to eat foods. It is estimated that over 10 per cent of total expenditure incurred in the household for foods is spent for snack foods. Ihe total expenditure on snack foods in India is around Rs. 13,200 crores. These ready to eat snack foods are often termed as 'Junk food'.