UK: Food firms fight to see off the 'fat tax'

Trans fatty acids will be removed from Mars bars. Picture: Andrew Stuart
Food firms fight to see off the 'fat tax'

FRANK O'DONNELL CONSUMER AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT


FOOD producers stung by criticism that they are contributing to Britain's obesity epidemic are rushing to develop low-fat, low-calorie alternatives to popular brands in a bid to head off tough new government controls, the threat of a "fat tax" and potential US-style lawsuits.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) this week said the industry had two years to improve its record on promoting products to children, while in May the Commons health committee made 69 recommendations for urgent government intervention.

Now a number of major companies are fighting back, with efforts to limit calorie and fat intake and encourage exercise. Coca-Cola this week launched an anti-obesity programme, Active Lifestyle, which aims to encourage healthy living. Significantly, the scheme includes a pledge for more responsible sales and marketing. Earlier this year, the company agreed to remove advertising from vending machines in secondary schools.

Cadbury Schweppes - which controversially promoted the collection of chocolate wrappers in exchange for school sports equipment - this week said it was reviewing production of king-size chocolate bars, and is also developing a chocolate product made with skimmed milk.

The frozen food manufacturer Birds Eye has spent £4 million reducing salt and harmful fats in its products, and removing all artificial colourings and flavourings. Its new £25 million advertising campaign shows fish swimming in supermarket freezer cabinets and chickens roaming free with the slogan: "We don't play with your food."

McVitie's, meanwhile, has removed hydrogenated vegetable oil from Digestive, Rich Tea and Hob Nob biscuits. The oil contains trans fatty acids (TFAs), which are associated with obesity, clogging of arteries, heart disease and strokes. TFAs will also be removed from Mars bars, Rolo, Toffee Crisp, Jacob's Cream Crackers and Tuc biscuits.

The Consumers' Association has led the fight to force the food and drink industry to make products healthier, attacking levels of salt, fat and sugar in ready meals and breakfast cereals.

In a submission to the government, the association set out 12 key demands including the introduction of a national nutrition labelling scheme by 2005, targets on reducing obesity, and a watershed for advertising to children.

The Commons health committee said the number of obese people had shot up by 400 per cent in 25 years. Two-thirds of Britons are now overweight or obese. The MPs said this would lead to more people with heart disease, cancer and kidney failure, putting strain on the NHS.

This combination of pressure, and an increasing appetite from the public for healthier alternatives, appears to be forcing manufacturers to act.

McDonald's has already said it will scrap super-size portions by the end of 2004, while Tesco has pledged to adopt a traffic-light labelling system giving consumers an at-a-glance guide to how much fat, sugar and salt a product contains.

Dr Tim Lobstein, director of the Food Commission, an independent consumer watchdog, said it was clear manufacturers were being driven by a fear of legal action and the threat of government intervention. But he added: "They are not doing enough and their promises so far have amounted to very little. We have lost faith in the food industry and we don't believe them until we actually see them act."

David Hinchliffe MP, the chairman of the Commons health committee, said: "There is a mixed picture among the producers, but consumers will judge, and I think it will be the companies that really move to adopt the agenda for healthier food that go on being profitable."

The Scottish Tory health spokesman, David Davidson, welcomed Coca Cola's anti-obesity programme but said it would mean very little unless the company changed its product. Shona Robison, for the SNP, said: "These companies have been forced into these measures because of the huge concern expressed about obesity levels. We should have a ban on junk food advertising as soon as possible. They have had years to regulate themselves and failed."

A spokeswoman for the Food and Drink Federation, a trade body for the UK industry, said: "Individual companies have for a long time been looking at what the consumer wants. There is a definite interest in looking at products lower in sugar, lower in salt, lower in fat."