Food firms fund info campaigns

Date: 01/12/05

The food and drink industry will boost the money it spends on advertising and consumer information to fight rising EU obesity levels, sector representatives CIAA announced last Thursday (24 November).

The commitment was the first to be made by a member of the EU diet, physical activity and health action platform (the 'obesity platform'), launched by the European Commission in March this year.

"We are not trying to escape responsibility," said CIAA president Jean Martin. He added: "We are part of the problem and we want to be part of the solution."

The CIAA commitment focuses on providing more nutritional information to more people.

"Action has to begin with education and information," said Martin.

Education should start early, according to the president. "I am appalled to see that in many EU countries there is no nutritional education on the curriculum," he said.

"People can leave school at 16 with no idea whatsoever about fats or carbohydrates, for example. It's too late to start educating when a lady is in the supermarket looking at the shelves."

The problem is not however about banning some products and promoting others, he added. "There is no such thing as good food and bad food, but there is such a thing as a good diet." CIAA believes the more information there is publicly available, the easier it will be for the public to build up a "good diet".

Martin also pointed out that, for the majority of people in the Western world, food was not just fuel. "Food is also a pleasure for most people and a good part of food is the taste. We are sometimes asked why we don't reduce, for example, the salt content of food. It would be very easy to do, but we risk losing the consumer - salt is a great contributor to taste.

"You must remember you are not in a situation where you can dictate what the consumer wants to eat. The consumer dictates to you."

Article reports on an announcement by the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA) that it would substantially increase the money it spent on advertising and consumer information to fight rising EU obesity levels, 24 November 2005.

Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU: Press Release, 24.11.05 http://www.ciaa.be/pages_en/news_events/news_list.asp?news_id=171

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