In a statement on Wednesday, Andrew Lansley said that "no government campaign or program can force people to make healthy choices”.
“We want to free business from the burden of regulation, but we don't want, in doing that, to sacrifice public health outcomes," he said.
Instead of imposing more regulations on the food industry, Lansley is asking the industry to contribute to healthy eating campaigns, such as the Change 4 Life campaign, a move many have been skeptical of.
Outgoing President of the Faculty of Public Health, Alan Maryon-Davis, said: "Personally, I mistrust the notion of seeing public health campaigns being sponsored by companies that clearly sell products which are not the healthy option.”
The National Obesity Forum was also scathing of the announcement, calling the move “nothing other than a bare-faced request for cash from a rich food and drink industry”.
“The quid pro quo is that the department gives industry an assurance that there will be no regulation or legislation over its activities," said Tam Fry, a spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum.
A REAL DIFFERENCE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH AGENDA
Some in the food industry have responded positively to the news, however. Julian Hunt, FDF's Director of Communications, said: “We look forward to working with the Department of Health to bring the responsibility deal to life. We believe our members have already shown that they can make a real difference to the public health agenda – through our work on clearer nutrition information, product reformulation and workplace wellbeing – and we are keen to work in partnership with the Secretary of State and his colleagues to build on that work. We agree that in complex debates such as obesity the best solutions will be delivered through a shared social responsibility and not state regulation.”
You can read Andrew Lansley's speech here.
Edited by Jennifer Denby
“We want to free business from the burden of regulation, but we don't want, in doing that, to sacrifice public health outcomes," he said.
Instead of imposing more regulations on the food industry, Lansley is asking the industry to contribute to healthy eating campaigns, such as the Change 4 Life campaign, a move many have been skeptical of.
Outgoing President of the Faculty of Public Health, Alan Maryon-Davis, said: "Personally, I mistrust the notion of seeing public health campaigns being sponsored by companies that clearly sell products which are not the healthy option.”
The National Obesity Forum was also scathing of the announcement, calling the move “nothing other than a bare-faced request for cash from a rich food and drink industry”.
“The quid pro quo is that the department gives industry an assurance that there will be no regulation or legislation over its activities," said Tam Fry, a spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum.
A REAL DIFFERENCE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH AGENDA
Some in the food industry have responded positively to the news, however. Julian Hunt, FDF's Director of Communications, said: “We look forward to working with the Department of Health to bring the responsibility deal to life. We believe our members have already shown that they can make a real difference to the public health agenda – through our work on clearer nutrition information, product reformulation and workplace wellbeing – and we are keen to work in partnership with the Secretary of State and his colleagues to build on that work. We agree that in complex debates such as obesity the best solutions will be delivered through a shared social responsibility and not state regulation.”
You can read Andrew Lansley's speech here.
Edited by Jennifer Denby