The Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health have set up a nutrition strategy steering group and held the first meeting last week. The NSSG is chaired jointly by FSA chair Deirdre Hutton and public health minister Caroline Flint.
The group brings together representatives from consumer and health groups but also industry representatives including Sainsbury’s Justin King and Waitrose md Steven Esom.
The NSSG held its first meeting lat week and agreed to focus on research to evaluate nutritional front-of-pack labelling schemes in terms of their influence on consumer behaviour and knowledge.
It is also considering a handful of voluntary initiatives including making convenience foods healthier, the promotion of food to children and a healthy living social marketing campaign, which aims to tackle obesity through increased physical activity and promotion of a balanced diet.
Also on the NSSG are Lord Whitty chair of the consumer council, Gavin Neath of the Food & Drink Federation and Unilever and Salman Amin, president of PepsiCo UK & Ireland.
Caroline Flint said: “This group represents a high-level commitment across industry and government to ensure the action we take to help people make healthy-living choices has the greatest impact.”
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