Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Nigel Mills (Conservative) on Wednesday, 25 May 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 June 2022. It was answered by Maggie Throup (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 June 2022 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Food: Advertising

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the high fat, sugar and salt regulations, whether his Department plans to publish evidence that demonstrates why sweet nut bars are set to be included in the restrictions, and why sweet nuts in bags are not.

Answer

The Government decided the restrictions of foods high in fat, salt or sugar in stores and online should apply to a specified list of categories which are significant contributors to children's sugar, salt, and calorie intakes and are heavily promoted. Products within these categories are considered less healthy if they receive a score of four or more for food or a drink product scores one or above, using the 2011 technical guidance to the 2004/2005 Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM). The 2004/2005 NPM is being applied as it is based on scientific evidence and provides an overall assessment of the nutritional content of products considered by balancing the beneficial nutrients of a product including fruit, vegetables and nuts, fibre and protein content against components of food that children should eat less of, such as saturated fat, sugar, salt, and calories. The categories in the sugar and calorie reduction and reformulation programmes have been used as a basis as they were formulated following research and analysis undertaken by Public Health England (PHE). The categories identified everyday foods that contribute significantly to the sugar and calorie intakes of children up to the age of 18 years old. For the sugar reduction programme, PHE held stakeholder engagement between 2016 and 2017 to inform decisions on the categories included in the programme and ensure the application of a consistent approach to businesses and products. A similar approach was used for the calorie reduction programme. The impact assessments for the promotions and placement restrictions, published in December 2020, show the overall health benefit is significant and takes into account the proportionality and feasibility of restricting specific product categories. Definitions of product categories in scope of the advertising restrictions are to be included in a consultation which will be launched shortly.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
9010
Session
2022-23
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Advertising Food Nutrition Regulation Nuts
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk