Junk food firms will set their own 'healthy eating' rules

Can the food industry be trusted to make our food healthier?

Food companies like McDonald's, PepsiCo and Mars will soon set their own rules about the amount of fat, sugar and salt in foods as the Government has stripped the Food Standards Agency of its role to set healthy targets to the industry.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley believes food companies can be trusted to make their products healthier by reducing saturated fat and salt independently and without the oversight of Government agencies. Instead, a 'responsibility deal' has been struck, in which food firms volunteer to set their own health objectives. Lansley explains, 'We will only regulate where necessary. We will seek to have less intrusive and less interventionist approaches in order that we can make more progress more quickly.'

ZEST SAYS: Although Lansley claims this move will increase overall health, big business does not have the best track record when it comes to self-regulation - it took the smoking ban to see a fall in smoking. We hope the industry will step up and continue the FSA's work to make food healthier, but we want to see more transparency about the contents of certain foods, as outlined in our Eat Well, Eat Wise campaign. If consumers had clearer labelling in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, they would be able to make their own educated choice even if the food industry didn't meet the guidelines.