Plans are afoot to create yet another consumer-facing mark for food and drink - this time to flag up that a product meets official advice on healthy lifestyles.

The government has written a letter addressed to "interested parties" to gauge views on the proposal, which was made at a meeting of the influential Nutrition Strategy Steering Group.

The letter, signed by FSA head of nutrition Rosemary Hignett and Rachel Atkinson, head of the Department of Health's nutrition programme, says the DH wants to align the many health initiatives currently in existence.

It reads: "An important task will be to distinguish credible support from the large quantity of 'health advice' currently in the public domain. Consideration is being given to whether a 'mark', based on agreed criteria, would be beneficial in identifying credible 'healthy living' support."

At the January NSSG meeting, Chris Holmes, head of the DH's Social Marketing Team, told attendees the DH had identified about 120 separate national initiatives, many of which overlap and "confuse the core message".

According to the minutes: "There was general support for the idea of creating an 'umbrella' under which initiatives and products could be marketed.

"The Red Tractor and 5-a-day campaign were cited as two good examples of such an exercise with slightly different approaches.

"It was also suggested that the 'Small Change Big Difference' tagline could be reinvented for this purpose. This was thought to be a good means of providing commercial organisations with a 'mark' to differentiate credible public health advice whilst allowing for independence in the particular schemes or products."

Recipients of the subsequent letter are invited to submit their views on the concept to the DH's Obesity Social Marketing team.

The NSSG, which is jointly chaired by public health minister Caroline Flint and FSA chair Dame Deirdre Hutton, was created in October to drive initiatives designed to improve health through diet and nutrition.

Sainsbury's boss Justin King, Tesco chairman David Reid and Waitrose MD Steven Esom are all on the group. PepsiCo UK & Ireland president Salman Amin and Unilever UK global CSR director Gavin Neath are also members, along with figures from leading consumer interest groups.

News of the labelling initiative emerged as the government began talks with the big four aimed at persuading them to help fund schemes within its Healthy Living Initiative.

It is understood ministers are looking for sponsorship from the retailers for projects that will take the healthy eating message to British parents, particularly low-income families.

Publication of the FSA's long-awaited strategy on saturated fat intake and energy balance looks to have slipped again. It had been promised this month - but now may not appear until after Easter, The Grocer understands.

Suppliers and retailers fear the FSA will demand a reformulation of products so they contain less fat and sugar, leading to a tussle similar to that seen for salt. The FSA will consult on the strategy for 12 weeks following publication.

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