UK FSA Board to Retain Protein Cap

Removing the protein cap would have allowed a limited number of additional products, mainly breakfast cereals and some crisps, to be advertised on television to children.

26/03/09 The UK Food Standards Agency Board has agreed its advice to Ministers on the Agency’s nutrient profiling (NP) model.

The Board agreed that the model was working effectively. In particular it concluded that the protein cap, which prevents foods containing high levels of fat, salt or sugar being classed as 'healthier' by the model by virtue of their protein content, should be retained.

Removing the protein cap would have allowed a limited number of additional products, mainly breakfast cereals and some crisps, to be advertised on television to children.

Food Standards Agency Chair Deirdre Hutton, said: “We have been concerned for many years about the impact that an imbalance in food advertising can have on children’s diets. We welcome the conclusion that the nutrient profiling model is fundamentally robust and is helping to tackle this imbalance. Reducing the number of TV adverts for less healthy foods to which children are exposed is an important contribution towards improving public health.”

“The Board takes the diets of children very seriously and we feel that it is not appropriate to relax the model.”

An independent Review Panel was set up in 2007 to assess the effectiveness of the Agency’s Nutrient Profiling (NP) model at differentiating foods on the basis of their nutrient composition. The model was developed solely to assist Ofcom apply TV advertising controls which seek to improve the balance of foods being advertised to children.

The Panel commissioned a literature review on the latest scientific developments in nutrient profiling, consulted stakeholders, held an academic workshop attended by EU and international academics and sought stakeholder and SACN views on its draft recommendations.

The Review Panel recommended one change to the model: removal of the protein cap, which was included to safeguard against foods high in fat, salt and/or sugars passing the model due to their protein content. SACN expressed reservations about the public health implications associated with removal of the protein cap, and that if this modification was made the impact would need to be carefully monitored.

The UK Food and Drink Federation said they were disappointed by the decision on the protein cap. Melanie Leech, FDF Director General, says: “We welcome the fact that the FSA Board spent so much time seriously debating this issue, but that makes decision all the more disappointing. It raises serious questions about the Agency's commitment to better regulation."

“The decision not to remove the protein cap flies in the face of the recommendation of the Independent Review Panel, which has spent two years assessing the effectiveness of the nutrient profiling model. Yet again a proposal has been introduced at the last minute, outside the process of scientific review and stakeholder consultation," she added.

“Looking forward, we have to ask how industry can plan in such an environment of regulatory uncertainty. We will be calling on the FSA to clarify when it expects to base its decisions on science, and when – and on what basis – it will think it appropriate to set the science aside," Leech said.