FSA Welcomes Obesity Strategy

24/01/08 The FSA welcomes the publication of the Department of Health's 'Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives' strategy. It clearly demonstrates that we all have a part to play in the effort to stem the rise of obesity in the UK – this includes Government and the food industry as well as consumers themselves.

Chair of the Food Standards Agency, Deirdre Hutton, says: 'Improving the UK diet is highlighted as a major theme in today's strategy to tackle obesity and the Agency has a key role to play in this area.

'Since the publication of the Government's Choosing Health White Paper in 2004, we have been working closely with the food industry, other Government departments, public health professionals and consumers on a range of health and nutrition initiatives to make it easier for everyone to choose healthier foods.

'We have made some good progress – particularly in terms of reformulation to reduce salt content in food and with encouraging food businesses to use clear front-of-pack nutritional labelling on their products, which are key strands in the obesity strategy. We look forward to seeing the outcome of the independent front-of-pack labelling evaluation, which will be starting shortly. This will give us a definitive answer as to what type of labelling approach best helps shoppers to make healthier choices.'

The Agency will soon be launching a programme to tackle excess saturated fat and promote energy balance – another important element of the Government's strategy. This will incorporate a range of initiatives such as reformulation and consumer awareness.

The contribution the catering sector makes to our diets is important and is highlighted in the strategy as we are eating more meals out of home than ever before. The Agency recently published details of the first stage in its work with workplace caterers and we look forward to expanding this to cover a wider range of catering businesses.