Food: Advertising

(asked on 9th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the evidential basis for the inclusion of (a) curry sauces, (c) pastes and (c) condiments in the restrictions in the HFSS strategy.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 5th November 2020

The nutrient profiling model applies equally to all foods and non-alcoholic drinks; there is no category specific criteria. The possible implications of applying the nutrient profiling model from per 100g basis to per portion basis was considered as part of the 2007 review of the effectiveness of the nutrient profiling model. The independent review panel recommended to retain the 100g base to avoid unnecessary complexity as there are few United Kingdom dietary recommendations on portion sizes and inconsistent portion sizes used on food or drink packs.

My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had any discussions with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on the exemption of curry sauces and pastes from the Scottish Government’s strategy on foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).

In ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’, published in July, the Government confirmed its intention to restrict the promotion and advertising of HFSS foods. The consultations on these policies set out proposals for the definitions of HFSS products. We have listened carefully to the feedback and will be setting out final definitions for the products these policies apply to when we publish the responses to the consultations. We will do this as soon as possible.

Reticulating Splines