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The UK food industry has called the EC green paper on the promotion of healthy diets a ‘sensible, integrated effort to tackle food and health issues’.

Launched this week, the paper outlines ways to promote healthy diets and physical activity in an attempt to tackle rising rates of childhood obesity and obesity-related disease.
The paper makes it clear that the EC considers industry self-regulation the best way of dealing with the problem.

“We look forward to working with the UK Government on a public education campaign on healthy lifestyles,” said Food and Drink Federation (FDF) deputy director general Martin Paterson.

“The UK food and drink manufacturing industry has already made great strides in contributing to the food and health debate.”

Action is certainly needed. The Commission says that 14 million Europeans are obese or overweight, of which more than 3 million are children. Obesity-related illnesses, which include heart disease and diabetes, account for up to 7 per cent of healthcare costs in the Union.

In some Member States, over a quarter of the adult population is now obese.

Such horrendous statistics however suggest that self-regulation alone might not be enough. Indeed, the grebe paper also raises the debate over advertising of high sugar, salt or fat products at children, and asks whether nutrient profile scoring systems could improve consumer awareness of healthy foods.

This is a highly contentious issue. Nutrient profiling is one of the most controversial elements of Europe's proposed health claims law, and has been vigorously attacked by many in the food industry.

The FDF for example argues that foods currently accepted as healthy, such as margarine with phytosterols, calcium-enriched fruit juice or iodised salt, would gain an unfavourable nutrient profile under this law, and that such a profiling system is driven not by scientific concern but political agenda.

It believes that the food industry is making progress through its own initiatives.

“In September 2004 FDF issued the Food and Health Manifesto,”said Paterson. “This set out a series of commitments ranging from reductions in salt, sugar and fat, to action on portion sizes, vending, advertising to children and better labelling.

“One year on, FDF surveyed members to check what progress the industry has made. FDF's Delivering on Our Commitments report demonstrated huge progress in key areas and a continuing commitment by FDF members to help find solutions to the complex issues surrounding obesity.”

Green papers are intended to open discussion on specific EU policy areas, with organisations and individuals invited to participate in the debate. In some cases they lead to subsequent legislation.

A public consultation on the paper will run until 15 March 2006, and a report summarising the contributions will be published on the Commission's website by June 2006.

Source: Nutraingredients

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Posted in La Obesidad en Europa y Estados Unidos | Obesity and Overweight in Europe 823 lecturas