The UK government is reportedly planning to introduce a raft of tough anti-obesity measures.
The Sunday Times newspaper said it has seen a draft of proposals which include restaurants being forced to display dishes’ calorie contents and the banning of unhealthy snacks at tills and checkouts in shops.
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It reports that other measures include stopping the TV advertising of junk-food before the 9pm watershed and introducing a sugar tax on milk-based drinks by 2020, a measure first suggested earlier this month.
It said the plan, which will likely be subject to public consultation, was originally scheduled for publication this month but is now likely to be signed off next month.
The newspaper suggested the obesity strategy is supported by Jeremy Hunt, the UK Health Secretary, and has been agreed by other senior cabinet ministers.
just-food has asked the Department of Health for a comment.
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By GlobalDataA plan to announce a major crackdown on obesity was first mooted in April.
Until now the UK government’s initiatives to improve the nation’s health through its diet have largely been based around voluntary targets.
In March, it announced it was pushing the food industry to reduce calories in products. The Government is challenging the UK food industry to reduce calories in products consumed by families by 20% by 2024.
That move came a year after the UK government set a target for food manufacturers and retailers, as well as restaurants, cafés and pub chains, operating in the country to reduce sugar by 20% in the top nine categories of products providing sugar to children’s diets by 2020.
As a start, the Government said was looking for a 5% reduction between August 2016 and August 2017.
But it was announced this month UK food firms had fallen short of that early goal.
