The Government has announced that it plans to develop a Code of Practice relating to food and beverage product placement in the retail sector, as part of its strategy to tackle obesity.
Yesterday, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar announced Professor Alan Reilly, former chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, as chair of a working group to develop a code of practice for food marketing, promotion and sponsorship.
Other objectives include the development of Codes of Practice for food advertising and marketing and sponsorships by the food industry.
The working group includes representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, IBEC, FDII, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, the Association of Advertisers in Ireland, the Institute of Advertisers in Ireland and a number of other groups.
“All the stakeholders in this group agree on the need to take a collective role in tackling obesity," said Minister Varadkar. "The food sector is hugely important to Ireland and the Irish economy. The standard and quality of our food is world famous. At the same time, we are only going to reverse the trend in obesity by encouraging more healthy eating by adults and children."
The Minister added that he believed "this group can develop a code which will encourage more people across the entire population to make healthy food choices."
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
