Nutrition Strategy Steering Group: Minutes of meeting 12 June 2007

Caroline Flint MP - Department of Health (DH)
Deirdre Hutton - Food Standards Agency (FSA)
Gavin Neath - Unilever
David Reid - Tesco
Paul Kelly - Compass
Peter Vicary-Smith - Which?
Justin King - Sainsbury’s
Larry Whitty - National Consumer Council
Rosemary Hignett - FSA
Claire Boville - FSA
Rachel Atkinson - DH
Simon Medcalf - DH

Caroline Flint welcomed all members to the third meeting of the Nutrition Strategy Steering Group (NSSG).

Apologies were received from Salman Amin (PepsiCo) and Alexander Macara (National Heart Forum).

The only action arising from the previous meeting (NSSG members being consulted on the draft specification for evaluating signpost labelling) has been completed following the teleconference call of 15 May 2007.

The draft specification for the evaluation of signpost labelling will be sent to tenderers in early July. This will begin the process of selecting an independent research organisation to undertake the evaluation.

Once the project management panel has selected the contractor to carry out the research and has a more detailed description of the research design, the NSSG will be provided with an opportunity to comment on it via an arranged teleconference call in the Autumn.

The draft specification had been amended to make clear that store card data could be made available, if the tenderers considered that such data would provide extra insight, and that in commenting on this point they would need to outline how the data would be used and what level of analysis they envisaged undertaking using it.

Rachel Atkinson provided a brief update on the current situation and DH priorities for furthering work in this area. Following the announcement of food promotion restrictions in broadcast (Ofcom) and non-broadcast (CAP) media, we have identified four areas where no regulation currently exists: Point of sale, Packaging, New Media, Sponsorship.

Of these areas, of most priority is new media, in particular company websites and online promotions, and this is the area about which most representations are received.

The DH interim review of the current promotion restrictions, due to be published later in 2007, will note these less-regulated areas and propose that further work is undertaken. In the meantime, the question to NSSG members is what action can be taken now.

In discussion, the following points were raised:

• regulation of company websites is a difficult area, and would have to be taken forward through self-regulation. In discussion on which existing body may be best placed to intervene, the suggestion of the Institute for Grocery Distribution (IGD) was seen as the most likely
• this is not a problem particular to the food industry – in fact, use of online advertising to children is prevalent in other sectors
• consideration of the issue requires discussion around both the technique or mechanisms to be employed in tackling promotions, and the specific content which would be regulated. In the case of the former, suggested mechanisms might include a simple set of voluntary guidelines to which industry could sign-up – though it was noted that as a wider issue this may require a cross-government and cross-sectoral response. In the case of the content to be regulated, concern was expressed that if the current FSA nutrient profiling model were to be used, this would be unacceptable to many in the industry
• new media have disproportionate access to children, and though this is not solely an issue for the food industry, action will have to incorporate consideration of both content and technique. This represents an opportunity for the industry to proactively drive change and be at the vanguard of ethical promotion practice. However, it was noted that limited evidence on use of online promotion and its effects on children had yet been presented, and further discussions were needed to establish the extent of the issues

Referring to ongoing discussions around the FSA nutrient profiling model in relation to food promotion, it was noted that the process to review the model was already underway. The remit and process for this review was for discussion, and the FSA was committed to an ‘open and collaborative’ approach, inviting NSSG members to be involved. However, it was important to recognise that some form of differentiation was necessary to negate the recourse to a total ban on advertising. It was recognised that all forms of nutrient profiling were likely to result in some anomalies.

Members agreed to return to these discussions in future meetings.

Paul Kelly introduced a paper on the subject, highlighting two main issues:

• the workplace provided the greatest potential influence on individual’s diet, since 80% of workplace food is currently contract catered
• workplace food in the public sector (which is usually subsidised) provided an additional possibility – redirecting the subsidy to make healthier options more attractive

Reference was made to the Scottish ‘Healthy Living’ initiative and its impact on the catering sector. It was widely felt that this initiative had been a success, and where possible it would be sensible to borrow this learning in England – noting that the scale of such a venture in England would make the timescales longer.

It was agreed that action to promote healthy eating in the workplace was an easy win. Food unit costs were not considered to be an issue, and though some employers may be harder to reach than others, members were optimistic about progressing such an initiative. However, setting in the wider context of personal or home meals, catered workplace meals account for around 1% of the total, so in the longer-term the wider picture needs to be addressed through education.

Considering the next steps for taking forward a pilot workplace initiative in England along the lines of the Scottish model, Justin King offered Sainsbury’s to be a test site, which was welcomed by Deirdre Hutton.

Caroline Flint noted links between this work and the DH and Department of Work and Pensions Well@Work programme, as well as recent discussions with convenience sector representatives. Deirdre Hutton also noted the FSA 'Scores on the Doors' pilot for food hygiene, which had potential in the longer-term to incorporate healthy eating information.

In response to the suggestions on public sector subsidies, Rachel Atkinson responded that a cross-government procurement group was in the process of considering central catering contracts. Though these discussions may not yet have included reallocating subsidies, these suggestions could be put forward.

Rosemary Hignett outlined the main strands of the Agency’s proposed strategy for reducing saturated fat and energy intake in food. This strategy called for collaboration in delivery of the policy objective. It was suggested that there could be greater collaboration on research relating to palate and fat replacers.

Gavin Neath gave a verbal update on the progress of Project Neptune. It was recognised that collaboration in relation to salt reduction activities had been very successful, and although there was a recognition that fat issues were more complex, it was noted that Gavin Neath was in the process of exploring with manufacturers what could be done to address the issue. There was a feeling that much could be achieved by educating consumers about fats and using front of pack labelling as a mechanism to drive change together with portion control. It was also suggested that consideration should also be given to agreeing the message about the level of saturated fats which consumers should not be exceeding.

It was agreed that the NSSG would return to the issue at the next meeting.

The next meeting of the NSSG will be scheduled for January 2008.

Suggested items for discussion at the next meeting included:

• industry partnerships
• European Union White Paper on Nutrition and Obesity
• update on Foresight Obesity work