Should the campaign cover health as well?

Anthony Butcher · 14th September 2007, 12:09 AM

For the moment, we don't have anything about health issues and food labelling. This is a hot topic in the media, with calls for salt and fat monitoring and so on.

Is this something that we should include as well? We could, for instance, ask restaurants to give an indication of the fat content of a meal using the wheel/traffic light system, or a text based system. Alternatively they could simply label a meal the 'healthy option', for example.

Alex McKee · 14th September 2007, 12:28 AM

I don't think so, no.

Sam Youles · 14th September 2007, 06:31 PM

I can't see any restaurant voluntarily putting a red traffic light warning on any of their entrees. Also, how can you accurately measure salt content, when a chef adjusts the seasoning on a dish by tasting it? It's not like a factory production line.

The 'healthy option' label would be open to abuse. McDonalds called their salads the 'healthy option' and they contain more fat than a cheeseburger.

Anthony Butcher · 14th September 2007, 07:15 PM

Yes, that is a real problem - most food eaten out is unhealthier than home cooked food.

This is why I avoided any mention of the health side so far - it is just a minefield.

Than again, maybe it is something that could be addressed in the future. There must be some sensible guidelines that can be applied to allow restaurants to honestly and accurately label food as a healthy option.

14th September 2007, 12:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Long Ashton, North Somerset Posts: 170	Should the campaign cover health as well? For the moment, we don't have anything about health issues and food labelling. This is a hot topic in the media, with calls for salt and fat monitoring and so on. Is this something that we should include as well? We could, for instance, ask restaurants to give an indication of the fat content of a meal using the wheel/traffic light system, or a text based system. Alternatively they could simply label a meal the 'healthy option', for example.

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14th September 2007, 12:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
Alex McKee Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 54	I don't think so, no.

14th September 2007, 06:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Sam Youles Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2	I can't see any restaurant voluntarily putting a red traffic light warning on any of their entrees. Also, how can you accurately measure salt content, when a chef adjusts the seasoning on a dish by tasting it? It's not like a factory production line. The 'healthy option' label would be open to abuse. McDonalds called their salads the 'healthy option' and they contain more fat than a cheeseburger.

14th September 2007, 07:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Long Ashton, North Somerset Posts: 170	Yes, that is a real problem - most food eaten out is unhealthier than home cooked food. This is why I avoided any mention of the health side so far - it is just a minefield. Than again, maybe it is something that could be addressed in the future. There must be some sensible guidelines that can be applied to allow restaurants to honestly and accurately label food as a healthy option.