letters

Published: 26/08/2004, Volume II4, No. 5920 Page 20

With reference to your interview with Sylvia Jay, director general of the Food and Drink Federation (The HSJ Interview, pages 24-25, 22 July), the food industry has to take some collective responsibility for the huge changes in the UK's food culture over the past 20 years.

Over the past 20 years we have seen a major change in the British diet, which is now by far the biggest market for processed food in Europe. Over the same period we have seen a 400 per cent increase in obesity. The UK now has the fastest-growing rate of increase in obesity in Europe.

Not unrelated is the fact that children are exposed to relentless and sometimes aggressive marketing of processed foods high in salt, sugar and fats.

This marketing strategy has shifted to be targeted at everyounger cohorts of children.

The marketing is highly sophisticated and increasingly directed at children in schools and even pre-school settings and appears to be growing year on year. The controls on this are either non-existent or not fit for the purpose.

A salt reduction in processed foods is one of those rare phenomena in public health - a magic bullet that will benefit the whole population quickly.

Numerous public opinion surveys demonstrate that the public is screaming out at the food industry and government to introduce easy to understand food labelling such as a traffic light code to indicate the level of fat, sugar and salt on all processed foods sold in the UK.

In the absence of EU legislation, the FDF is ideally placed to lead the food industry in introducing voluntary food labelling.

The stark reality is that many sections of the food industry are resisting change and thus the public - especially children - have little chance to exercise healthy choices. Time is running out for the food and marketing industries to demonstrate that they will be part of the solution.

Paul Lincoln Chief executive National Heart Forum