Meanwhile Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston who chairs the Health Committee in the House of Commons said the plan showed “the hand of big industry lobbyists”.
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The strategy confirmed the Government would go ahead with the “sugar tax” on soft drinks announced by former chancellor George Osborne, but relies on voluntary action by the industry to reduce unhealthy sugar levels in other products aimed at children.
But lobby groups such as the Action on Sugar (AoS) and the Children’s Food Campaign (CFC), together with consumer group Which? – which accused the government of being in denial – were scathing in their criticism of the strategy for missing the opportunity to introduce mandatory restrictions on the advertising and promotion of sugary products to children.
‘The government continue to ignore the children’s oral health crisis we are experiencing in the United Kingdom and are putting the wellbeing of millions of people a risk by bowing to pressure from the food and drink industry.
Under the strategy, the government will introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks from 2018.
“The plan also misses the opportunity to improve children’s diets by reining in the saturation marketing and promotion of junk food”.
Jamie Oliver, a long-time campaigner for children’s health, slammed the “underwhelming” strategy.
Professor Majid Ezzati, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College, London, said: “This epidemic of severe obesity is too extensive to be tackled with medications such as blood pressure lowering drugs or diabetes treatments alone, or with a few extra bike lanes”.
If the industry fails to implement the changes voluntarily, the Government will consider “whether alternative levers need to be used”.
“Indeed, many individual manufacturers have a proud track record of reformulation to remove salt, fat and sugar from food and drinks and this work will continue“.
The Scottish Government is yet to release its strategy for Scotland, but the UK Government’s plan will affect retail across Britain.
According to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommendations, all children and young people should “engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day”.
“We welcome the commitment that the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be used to double the PE and Sports Premium, and that schools will be supported to spend the money effectively. The best way to do this is by ensuring you brush their teeth for two minutes last thing at night and at least one other time during the day with a fluoride toothpaste; cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks and visit your dental professional regularly, as often as they recommend”.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said it was disappointed there had been no discussion to develop a “UK-wide approach” to tackling the issue.
The government says the levy – which was first mooted by chancellor George Osborne in the March Budget – is directed towards producers of soft drinks, not consumers and is created to encourage the soft drinks industry to reduce the amount of sugar in their products and move consumers towards healthier alternatives.
“It could have been one of the most important pieces of work of our time, but instead it was prepared and delivered in the most underhand, insensitive, unstrategic way”.
“We need stronger action to protect children from junk food advertising if we want to make a difference”.
“Soft drink companies are already making great progress to reduce sugars from their products, having achieved a 16 per cent reduction between 2012 and 2016”.
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“It is becoming abundantly clear that replacing a critical ingredient of a product, or single nutrient in a diet, is neither an easy process for food companies nor a successful obesity strategy”, she said.
