The squabbling continues. This week, the National Heart Forum issued a damning report about Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), accusing manufacturers and retailers of 'misleading the public'.

The most valid criticism was that GDAs for adults were routinely used on products targeted at children. Sainsbury's pioneering work here - the first retailer to provide GDAs for children aged 5-10 years on its own-brand products - is to be applauded. But with Ofcom also targeting 16-year-old boys, 13-year-old girls etc, you would need to double the size of the packaging. Surely we can trust parents to make a few calculations? Impossible, says the Forum, as nearly 50% of the population is too stupid to understand even this sentence. Is that a reason to advocate traffic lights over GDAs? Sounds more like a job for the DoE.

Other criticisms levelled by the Forum, however, are just bizarre. It accuses Tesco of labelling its mackerel fillets as high in Omega-3 fatty acids "which [Tesco] claims is a 'benefit'". And how dare manufacturers suggest whole-grain is healthy without a scientifically agreed level? These are yet more signs that power-crazed agendas are winning out over reason. In a similar vein, the Food Standards Agency this week announced it was banning goji berries - the trendy new superfood - until it checks they are safe to eat.

But this is the age we live in. All foods are guilty until proven innocent. And, as we discuss in our ongoing campaign coverage this week (see p36), no amount of product reformulation can satisfy the lobbying groups, for whom all food manufacturers are evil schemers. Surely it's to be celebrated that Brits are eating 8% more fruit and vegetables, as we reported last month. But no. Lobbyists have lost sight of the patient and are sticking to their doses.