The nutrient profiling model has always been a bit of a blunt instrument. The Grocer’s 2007 Weigh It Up campaign successfully lobbied to allow a number of exemptions for the likes of milk, raisins, honey and olive oil. But there are still anomalies: for example, did you know Itsu’s Crispy Seaweed Thins are HFSS, despite containing only 24 calories and 0.1g of salt?Thought not.
But the government wants to go further. As we revealed this week, the DHSC wants to catch thousands of further products in its net – including brands that have been reformulated at an enormous cost to avoid HFSS classification. With the paint barely dry on the government’s regulatory lines for banning online and pre-watershed advertising for HFSS products, the goalposts have moved once again.
It’s going to cause an almighty row. And the distraction – on top of other rows over EPR, DRS, ERA, BRR and other three-letter acronyms (TLAs) – is a big shame, because without question the new Defra team is on a mission.
Since the appointment of Defra secretary Emma Reynolds, food and farming minister Angela Eagle and permanent secretary Paul Kissack in the autumn (and accelerating on either side of Christmas) the Inheritance Tax bombshell has been diffused; the Sustainable Farming Initiative has been re-established (and simplified); planning regulations are being relaxed; a Food Inflation Gateway has been established; new funding for farmer collaboration, protected landscapes and a £10.5bn investment in flood defences has been outlined.
Outreach has also stepped up. Whereas the Food Strategy Advisory Board (FSAB) is seen as a closed shop, this week’s broader industry talks show the government is in listening mode.
Perhaps most significant has been the creation of the Food & Farming Partnership Board. Aiming to replicate the successful model employed in countries like Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands, it will focus on establishing shared, collectively owned goals across domestic and export production.
Meanwhile, the FSAB has been bolstered with further industry representation including Roisin Currie (Greggs), Julian Marks (Barfoots), Peter Kendall (ex-NFU) and Andrew Forsey (Feeding Britain).
It’s true the detail is missing, on SFI, on a response to the Minette Batters profitability review, on the farming roadmap and for that matter the long-awaited national food strategy itself. But the new Defra team seems more serious, more receptive and more action-oriented than we’ve seen for some considerable tim
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