Consider tougher regulation in obesity fight - Labour
By Adam Brimelow
Are legal limits on the fat, salt and sugar content of food needed?
Labour has urged the government to consider introducing legal limits on sugar, salt and fat-content in food.
The party says the coalition's emphasis on voluntary agreements with industry is not working.
It is starting a consultation on how to tackle obesity.
The Department of Health in England says its Responsibility Deal with food companies shows the voluntary approach can be successful.
At its core this is an argument about how best to reduce levels of fat, sugar and salt in our food - through regulation, or collaboration.
The coalition says working with industry through the Responsibility Dealhas improved food content and labelling.
But Labour argues the government has failed to come up with a convincing plan to tackle rising obesity rates.
Shape the rules
Its consultation paper Children, Food and Obesity says parents are primarily responsible for ensuring their children eat healthily, but it argues that government also has a crucial role.
It says that means "shaping the rules of the system" to help parents who are trying to do the right thing.
The paper cites recent data NHS data indicating that one third of children in England are either overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school. It says this puts them at greater risk than ever before of developing serious problems such as diabetes and cancer.
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham says the government's response - working with industry through its Responsibility Deal - has been complacent.
"It is clear that the current voluntary approach is not working. We need to open our minds to new approaches in tackling child obesity."
He says it is time for "new thinking" on how to tackle child obesity.
"Labour wants to lead this debate. That is why we are asking the public and experts if new limits for sugar, fats and salts would be the right approach."
The party says measures could include a 30% cap on sugar content in cereals aimed at children - significantly lower than in several well-known brands.
The consultation will also consider tighter restrictions on marketing and improving access to healthy food.
Healthier choices
The Department of Health in England says the Responsibility Deal has succeeded in cutting fat, sugar and salt in foods.
A spokesperson said: "Our successes so far clearly demonstrate that the voluntary approach can work and we now have over 400 partners in the responsibility deal.
"We are working to reduce the amount of salt in food further, cut saturated fat consumption and we are exploring how to promote healthier food choices more widely. We also want more businesses making pledges so we get bigger results ."
The Food and Drink Federation also said collaboration between business and government had been a success.
"Through voluntary commitments, manufacturers have made significant progress in reducing salt, saturated fat and calories in their products. Salt levels have reduced 9% since 2006 and some manufacturers have introduced calorie caps in particular for snacks and soft drinks."
However, former regional director of public health, Professor Gabriel Scally, said the voluntary "collaboration" between food companies and the government was not working.
Speaking to the BBC he said: "I don't anyone in this country actually thinks that the food industry are the right people to decide what we should be eating."
Professor Nick Finer, who co-authored a recent report on obesity by the Royal College of Physicians, said legislative measures had already worked in other European countries.
"In French schools food and drink is controlled and all marketing of foods high in fat, sugar and salt is banned unless they are taxed and marketed with a health warning.
"Studies have shown that following these measures, the number of overweight children in France has dropped from 18.1% in 2000 to 15.5% in 2007."
Nutritionist Amanda Ursell said introducing legal limits on food could be "incredibly useful" if it meant "manufacturers are encouraged to reformulate their products" and market in "a responsible way".
Speaking to BBC News she said: "Children's food up to the age of one is closely regulated - so you know they won't have too much sugar, salt or fat. But at the age of one those regulations disappear.
"It's a slow process and the food industry has done quite well over the years, but this would be an extra incentive to go one stage further."
