1. 7 updates

Labour: 'Ban high-sugar cereals'

Laws limiting the amount of sugar, salt and fat in food should be considered in a bid to tackle obesity, the shadow health secretary said. Andy Burnham warned that many breakfast cereals aimed at children are more than one-third sugar by weight.

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Should there be a limit on sugar, salt and fat in food?

Andy Burnham the Shadow Health Minister is proposing that the government should introduce a legal limit on the amount of sugar, salt and fat in food. You have been giving us your views on the ITV News Facebook page.

  • Emma Hafford - People aren't strong enough or they don't have the will power to see it through. So if (salt or sugar) is not in food, then the weight should start dropping off.
  • Sue Norton - I think it should be law not guidelines, that are imposed on the manufacturer. There are too many artificial ingredients in our food.
  • Sarah Hancock - The government does not rule what people eat. It's up to them, they should know that salt and sugar is bad for your health.
  • Mel Crick - Healthy food needs to be cheaper so less people are forced to buy bad cheap food.
  • John Parrish - We have more than enough government in our lives, I will eat what I want.

Burnham proposes cap on sugar in cereals

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham told the Daily Telegraph he is considering proposing a 30% cap on sugar in cereals.

He warned that the rise in obesity was "storing up huge problems for the country and the NHS in the long term", and said the Government had failed to tackle the epidemic.

Like all parents, I have bought products like cereals and fruit drinks, marketed as more healthy, that contained higher sugar levels than expected.

I don't think that any parent would be comfortable with their child eating something that is 40% sugar.

Government: 'Less salt in the the food we buy'

By working with industry through the Responsibility Deal we have helped to reduce fat, sugar and salt in foods.

There is now less salt in the food we buy, companies are cutting and capping calories and artificial trans fats are being widely taken out of food.

We are working to reduce the amount of salt in food further, cut saturated fat consumption and we are exploring how to promote healthier food choices more widely.

We also want more businesses making pledges so we get bigger results.

– A Department of Health spokesman

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Labour calls for food laws to tackle obesity

The shadow health secretary said there should be laws limiting the amount of sugar, salt and fat in food. Credit: PA Wire

Laws limiting the amount of sugar, salt and fat in food should be considered, the shadow health secretary has urged.

Labour says voluntary agreements within the food industry are not working, and that politicians should look at banning children's foods that have a high sugar content, the Daily Telegraph said.

Andy Burnham, who has begun a consultation on how to tackle obesity, highlighted the case of breakfast cereals, saying that many aimed at children are more than one-third sugar by weight.

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