from Alf Carr, director general, British Frozen Food Federation
Sir; The British Frozen Food Federation applauds The Grocer’s desire to foster a balanced and pragmatic debate on healthy eating.
The government could be encouraging that in many ways, yet the fact that this campaign is necessary is a sad reflection on Labour’s political rather than practical approach.
The BFFF is appalled by the unprofessional manner in which the Department of Health has approached its action plan for the reduction of salt in frozen foods. Sending out letters to trade associations in June naming and shaming the BFFF and others, claiming our efforts were insufficient, did nobody any good.
BFFF had always informed government that in the retail sector it would be influential organisations like the Food and Drink Federation and the British Retail Consortium that would bring about salt reduction in the UK diet.
BFFF’s initiative was always in the foodservice sector. We could not make rash promises until we had collected more data and the Food Standards Agency understood this.
The DoH must decide whether to work with the industry or whether to lay into it to make a political point. So, let’s stop this nonsense about naming and shaming. Once a company or a sector has been named and shamed, there is little incentive to improve its position.
But that’s why bashing the government for the sake of it is equally mistaken. The real way to achieve a better diet is for everyone to work together.
Producers, government, education, local government, retailers, catering outlets and especially parents and the medical profession are all to blame for nutrition problems.
Co-operation could be made easier if the food chain didn’t have to deal with several reference points such as the Food Standards Agency, the DoH and Defra in this debate. I would personally prefer the FSA to be the main industry contact.
Overall, let’s get things in perspective. The real answer to a large scale problem is a large scale solution. It’s up to government to ensure it puts forward a cogent information package for consumers. In the end, consumers decide what products they buy and this determines what products the industry produces.
Sir; The British Frozen Food Federation applauds The Grocer’s desire to foster a balanced and pragmatic debate on healthy eating.
The government could be encouraging that in many ways, yet the fact that this campaign is necessary is a sad reflection on Labour’s political rather than practical approach.
The BFFF is appalled by the unprofessional manner in which the Department of Health has approached its action plan for the reduction of salt in frozen foods. Sending out letters to trade associations in June naming and shaming the BFFF and others, claiming our efforts were insufficient, did nobody any good.
BFFF had always informed government that in the retail sector it would be influential organisations like the Food and Drink Federation and the British Retail Consortium that would bring about salt reduction in the UK diet.
BFFF’s initiative was always in the foodservice sector. We could not make rash promises until we had collected more data and the Food Standards Agency understood this.
The DoH must decide whether to work with the industry or whether to lay into it to make a political point. So, let’s stop this nonsense about naming and shaming. Once a company or a sector has been named and shamed, there is little incentive to improve its position.
But that’s why bashing the government for the sake of it is equally mistaken. The real way to achieve a better diet is for everyone to work together.
Producers, government, education, local government, retailers, catering outlets and especially parents and the medical profession are all to blame for nutrition problems.
Co-operation could be made easier if the food chain didn’t have to deal with several reference points such as the Food Standards Agency, the DoH and Defra in this debate. I would personally prefer the FSA to be the main industry contact.
Overall, let’s get things in perspective. The real answer to a large scale problem is a large scale solution. It’s up to government to ensure it puts forward a cogent information package for consumers. In the end, consumers decide what products they buy and this determines what products the industry produces.
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