Food and drink industry bosses have warned that PHE’s voluntary reformulation programme could be wrecked by more draconian proposals said to be lined up by Theresa May and health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
It is understood proposals for a Childhood Obesity Plan Part 2 include sweeping measures targeted at junk food advertising, a crackdown on HFSS promotions in store, and a possible extension of the soft drinks sugar levy to cover other areas, with confectionery thought to be first in line.
Jamie in a jam over sponge cake recipe
Jamie Oliver has been accused of “hypocrisy” by food and drink leaders, due to his “gut-busting” advertising.
Oliver launched his #AdEnough campaign this week, encouraging social media users to post selfies showing them covering their eyes, in response to the “relentless” bombardment of children by advertising for “cheap, easily accessible, unhealthy junk food”.
However, two days later Oliver was on Twitter advertising a coconut and jam sponge, which contained nearly 350 calories a slice and more than 300g of sugar. One social media user tweeted: “Probs got a lot more sugar than we really should be advertising on Twitter before 9pm, eh mate?”
Industry sources said it was looking increasingly likely the government would be reviving proposals jettisoned from David Cameron’s original Childhood Obesity Strategy when Theresa May launched a watered down version in August 2016.
While the government is planning to push on with plans including a 9pm watershed for junk food advertising, it is the move on promotions and possible expansion of the sugar tax which would have the greater consequences for manufacturers and retailers.
The FDF told The Grocer the new raft of measures risked having dire implications for the industry’s voluntary reformulation programme, including sugar and calorie reduction.
As well as damaging the goodwill of companies, it said the moves being lined up would also have a damaging economic impact.
“We continue to make the case to the government that industry is fully engaged with the Childhood Obesity Plan,” said Tim Rycroft, FDF corporate affairs director.
“Our view is give us time to make the measures that have already been brought in work. Give us a chance to tackle areas such as sugar reduction before bombarding us with more.”
Rycroft added: “A move on promotions will make food more expensive and will hit a lot of categories that people don’t necessarily think about when they imagine junk food.
“When the government brought in the idea of the sugar levy we said that it would have the impact of hitting the poorest shoppers, without any concrete evidence that it would work in tackling obesity, and as expected it has increased prices.
“Now for the government to be looking to extend the levy, when the soft drinks levy has been in for only a few weeks, is just preposterous.”
Sources have warned that the government may also face legal challenges should it go down the route of a ban on HFSS promotions in store and follow the same route as the Scottish government, which is lining up its own obesity plan due in a few weeks.
“Nobody, including the Scottish government, has yet come up with a convincing way in which a plan on HFSS promotions could be introduced that would not be an unfair intervention on commercial practices,” said a supplier source.
However, Cancer Research UK policy manager Malcolm Clark said there was “huge public support” for the sort of measures being lined up.
“It’s great news that the government is returning to the sort of measures that were taken out of the original obesity plan,” he said.
CRUK recently produced a report claiming teenagers who watch just one extra junk food advert beyond the average of six across a seven-day period eat as many as 18,000 extra calories a year.
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