Back to HOMEPAGE Supermarket ban on fatty snacks would
curb obesity, Deirdre Hutton says
Valerie Elliott
Consumer Editor: The TImes
Filed 21 Jul 09
©Valerie Elliott
This article was originally published in The TImes on 18th July 2009.
It is reproduced here with the kind permission of it author and of the newspaper.
Supermarkets should stop selling high-calorie snacks and treats to help to fight the country’s obesity problem, the outgoing chairman of the Food Standards Agency says.
Dame Deirdre Hutton has spoken out as the watchdog prepares new targets for food manufacturers to reduce the calories and saturated-fat content in cakes, pastries, biscuits, chocolate bars and fizzy soft drinks.
A drive against supersize portions and bargain multipack offers on junk food is also part of the effort. “It is my personal view that supermarkets should stop marketing food that is small in size and high in calories. For example, flapjacks should not be on sale,” Dame Deirdre said.
Her remarks were made in an interview with The Times to mark the end of her four-year tenure as head of the agency.
“I don’t think that supermarkets should be selling this very energy-driven food,” she said. “We should be making low-calorie food the norm and anything that is high in fat should be niche. We should reverse the norm and stores should sell 90 per cent healthy food and 10 per cent unhealthy.”
Research has found that, without action, about 90 per cent of today’s children will be overweight or obese by 2050, with the bill to the taxpayer estimated at £50 billion.
At present 22 per cent of children in England are overweight or obese by the time they start school, and by the age of 10 or 11 the proportion is almost 31 per cent.
Labels on the front of packs to identify unhealthy food items are seen as vital to help to change buying patterns. However, Dame Deirdre’s enthusiasm for them has triggered numerous clashes with food industry chiefs who are vehemently opposed to “traffic light” labels, with some food packaging carrying red alerts, plus guidance on the maximum recommended daily consumption of salt, sugar and fats.
Leading companies including Tesco, Nestlé and Danone are against these labels, although the guidance is already used on food sold at Asda and Waitrose.
Widespread take-up depends on a decision by the European Commission, which could take at least another year, though it is possible that ministers will introduce new laws in Britain.
Dame Deirdre made clear, however, that the food industry had already shifted its position on labels and the need to improve the nation’s diet. “When I started here they kept saying that food was an individual choice as part of a balanced diet,” she said. “Now they have recognised that they are part of the solution and they need to play ball, and they are. But that’s not to say we won’t be pushing them harder — we will.”
Fraudsters and firms that flout food safety laws should face tougher penalties, Dame Deirdre added. Most cases are heard by magistrates, and many offenders get only light fines.“I would like to see courts hand out much higher fines and penalties, especially as the agency is being more pro-active on enforcement”.
She warned that all food outlets faced more spot checks by enforcement officers. The recent spate of sheep rustling across the country had raised her concerns that illegal slaughter of animals was rife and could pose a threat to human health.
She said that she frowned on the use of “tertiary” labelling by supermarkets, whereby they invent a location brand for products. Marks & Spencer uses the LochMuir name for some of its fish packs, which has a picture of a loch, but no such loch exists. Tesco sells a chicken range under the Willow Farm label, also a fictitious location.
©Valerie Elliott
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