The i Paper understands the Government is considering doing more to tackle ultra-processed foods (UPFs), in light of the growing evidence of their impact on good health.
A total ban on ads round the clock on TV has been previously backed by the healthy eating campaigner and former government food strategy chief Henry Dimbleby, as well as a House of Lords committee, which warned that the country is facing a public health emergency without tougher action.
The strategy is designed to help people afford healthy food “to tackle diet-related ill-health”, ensure food security, boost the economy and reduce the impact of farming on nature.
While the issue of public health – in particular related to UPFs and junk food ads – will form a key element of the strategy, it is understood that a total ban on junk food ads is not being considered by ministers.
Keir Starmer’s Government has pledged to fight childhood obesity but has also declared war on red tape and regulation – something the Prime Minister says is key to economic growth.
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It has also changed planning rules so that local councils can ban takeaway restaurants from opening near schools, something Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, pledged during the election campaign.
What is junk food?
For the purposes of the junk food ad ban the Government has sorted food stuffs “most associated with childhood obesity” into 13 categories.
Foods within these categories are assessed as to whether they are “less healthy” based on a nutritional analysis and whether they are high in salt, fat, sugar and protein.
The 13 categories are:
Prepared soft drinks containing added sugar ingredients; Savoury snacks; Breakfast cereals and porridges (some of which can contain high amounts of sugar and fat); Chocolates and sweets; Ice cream, ice lollies, frozen yoghurt, water ices and similar frozen products; Cakes and cupcakes; Sweet biscuits and bars; Morning goods including sweet pastries and sweetened bread products; Desserts and puddings; Sweetened yoghurt and fromage frais; Pizzas; Prepared potato products; Main meals and sandwiches.A recent report by the Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee called for junk food ads to be banned across all media by the end of this Parliament.
The committee also called for a salt and sugar reformulation tax on food manufacturers, as well as other regulations, giving the Food Standards Agency independent oversight of the food system and further research into the links between UPFs and adverse health outcomes.
And the committee warned ministers of the economic cost – to focus the minds of Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. It claimed that the annual societal cost of obesity is at least 1-2 per cent of the country’s GDP.
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“History has shown that past attempts to fix our broken food system have failed without regulation – essential for creating a level playing field. As a result, highly processed foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar have continued to push healthier options off our plates.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) says it will work with the Government, and the Food Strategy Advisory Board, on all of its targets including public health.
FDF research says the average shopping basket of its members’ products now contribute a third less salt and a quarter fewer sugars and calories since 2015.
Public health challenge
For its part, the government – under both Defra and the Department of Health – says it is putting a lot of effort into improving the nation’s public health, which has worsened since the Covid pandemic and growing health inequalities which can exacerbate obesity.
The Government also insists its pre-watershed and online junk food ad ban from October will make a difference to the obesity crisis: it estimates that 7.2bn calories per year are expected to be removed from the diets of UK children as a result of the measures, which could prevent around 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.
The Government’s upcoming 10-year plan, expected to be published within weeks, will place a greater emphasis on prevention of illness and conditions like obesity.
Yet tackling obesity is not the only challenge facing the Food Strategy Advisory Board. In its manifesto, Labour also pledged to improve the nation’s food security.
Pledging that “Labour recognises that food security is national security,” the manifesto made a commitment to champion British farming whilst also protecting the environment, and set a target for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.
The stickiness of this figure is causing an extra challenge for the food and farming sectors.
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The Food and Drink Federation says its sector is key to the UK’s economic growth – the Government’s No 1 priority.
Balwinder Dhoot, FDF director of sustainability and industry growth, told The i Paper: “The food manufacturing sector has been through a challenging time – Brexit, Covid, the Russia-Ukraine war, high inflation, climate change impacts.
“Having a strategy around a food system, with joined-up policy-making, is really welcome.
“The population is going to grow from 68 million to 78 million by 2050, we need to make sure we can feed them.
“Food is the biggest manufacturing sector in the UK. There are jobs [related to the food sector] in every constituency and community in every region in the country.”
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