A tough action place to tackle obesity and children’s diets has been agreed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The plan includes new labelling to signpost the fast, salt and sugar content in. From March 2005 the FSA will test foods marketed to children and name those not meeting guidelines.
The FSA policy statement said that schools and leisure centres should not accept vending machines with branding associated with less healthy foods and the government should not endorse promotional campaigns that encourage children to eat less healthily.
FSA chairman Sir John Krebs said: “Children are bombarded with messages that promote food high in fat, salt and sugar. The evidence shows that these messages do influence children… Everyone has a responsibility to act.”
Consumers and health groups welcomed the proposals as robust and wide-ranging, but they warned the food industry would lobby to water them down.