Voluntary agreements between the food and drink industry and the government are failing to tackle the obesity crisis, according to a report published today by consumer group Which?

It claims the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal is not delivering on its promise to bring about change faster than could be achieved through regulation.

The report attacks the pledges made under the deal for not setting clear enough targets for companies and it criticises what it claims is the lack of work to tackle areas such as saturated fat reduction, responsible marketing and promotions.

Which? also points out that three leading supermarkets, the Co-operative Group, Lidl and Iceland have failed to sign up to the moves on calorie reduction.

In an open letter to health minister Anna Soubry, Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which? said: “Our new research finds that the Responsibility Deal’s voluntary approach is not delivering on its promises. The pace of change among food companies must be dramatically increased and to drive this, the government should set out a much more ambitious approach.”

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