Holmach’s Response to The House of Lords Food Diet and Obesity Committee Report - Recipe for health: a plan to fix our broken food system
We’re saddened by the comments in the recent report by The House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee that states that our food system is broken.? It’s far from broken.? In fact it’s one of the most efficient food networks in the world and via exceptionally talented retailers, consumers have access to a wide range of food types including fresh foods, on a daily basis.
The priorities of this report need to be focused on consumer education and food labelling, rather than adding further tax burdens on the manufacturers.
At Holmach we’ve been working with an incredible network of UK food manufacturers that are making significant investments in processing technology and NPD to ensure that they’re creating delicious and nutritious ‘ready to eat’ and ‘ready to heat’ food products for their consumers. Thermal processing is already playing a huge part in the problem, eliminating the need for sugar and salt as preservatives. ?
?Even with all of this effort, a flurry of misinformation and outdated classifications leaves many people defaulting to the thought process that these ‘processed’ products are packed full of unhealthy preservatives and flavourings.?
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We need to be processing food to extend the shelf-life beyond that of the raw ingredients.
We need to be processing food to minimise food waste.
We need to be processing food to ensure that time-poor families have a healthy alternative to home-cooked meals.
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Another Tax?
One of the key recommendations within the report is to introduce a salt and sugar reformulation tax on food manufacturers.
Taxation to change behaviour is a blunt instrument that governments use to increase their own revenue. The priorities of this report need to be focused on reclassifying food products and food labelling with a focus on nutrition, so consumers can clearly identify products that are nutritionally beneficial for them.? By default this will force irresponsible manufacturers to rethink their recipes and ingredients, leading to a natural shift in buying behaviour.
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?Food Classifications
The traditional classification of food into processed and ultra-processed categories is outdated and does not reflect the diversity of food products and the technological innovations available today. This is due to the fact that they’re based on the degree of processing, rather than the nature of the process.? They also don’t take into account the ingredients or nutritional content of food products.?
Holmach’s European partners Lagarde Autoclaves , Roboqbo Food Division , Niko and PERFINOX | Solutions for the Food Industry are working with leading food manufacturers on a global basis to develop sustainable solutions that not only enhance flavours and visual appeal, but also enhance nutrition without the need for unhealthy additives and preservatives. How do we classify these products?
Improved Food Labelling
Introduced in 2006, evidence suggests that the UK’s traffic light food labelling system is ineffective in helping consumers to make healthier food choices.
The overall ineffectiveness is likely due to a number of factors, over and above the fact that consumers aren’t using it. Firstly, the system is based on a simplistic understanding of nutrition. It only considers the levels of unhealthy nutrients in food, such as calories, sugar, and saturated fat. It does not consider the levels of healthy nutrients in food, such as fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Avocados, nuts, seeds, whole milk, eggs, fatty fish and olive oil are all nutritionally beneficial but they would fail the traffic light system as they’re so high in fat or natural sugars.
Secondly, the system is based on a false dichotomy. It suggests that there are only two types of food: healthy food and unhealthy food. This is not true. There is a wide range of food that falls somewhere in between these two extremes.
We should be looking to countries like France and Australia for examples of labelling systems with a much greater success rate.? These systems are very similar to each other, both taking our traffic light system a step further and considering nutrition within the equation.
A study published in the journal "Public Health Nutrition" in 2019 found that France’s Nutri-Score labelling was associated with a 10% increase in the consumption of foods with a higher Nutri-Score and a 7% decrease in the consumption of foods with a lower Nutri-Score.
Australia’s Health Star Rating has also been shown to be effective in helping consumers make healthier food choices.
Conclusion
At Holmach we believe that recognising the efforts of responsible manufacturers, product labelling and consumer education are key to reducing the obesity epidemic in the UK.?
The report by the House of Lords states that past efforts have failed due to a misplaced focus on individual responsibility. ?A focus on individual responsibility will always need to be at the heart of any strategy because ultimately, we can’t control what people put in their mouths, but we can control the information that they’re receiving to make that decision.
Get involved in the conversation.
Food Technologist | Sensory Analysis Specialist | R&D Innovator | Certified ISO & HACCP Auditor | Food Safety & Quality Assurance| Practicing Baker
2 个月Important perspective!
HYPHA Consulting / Food Systems Design / Regenerative Economics / Systems Perspective
3 个月One of the huge issues about food policy analysts is that the method of research is generally base on a problem statement. “Why has obesity risen” for example. Often seeking an understanding of bad behaviour or a pattern of bad behaviour then suggesting an intervention to fix it. Reframing how this social science is organised would be asking where does good exist and how to enhance that behaviour and understanding the barriers that block it. (A bit of generalisation) I don’t believe it is a labelling issue, everything but supermarkets have to provide standards and labels, all in the name a free market and consumer choice but the power is too great. I’m waiting for the supermarket label… because I just don’t think it’s possible to cut through the noise. Preserving and processing are a profoundly important part of food system functionality, we can definitely agree there is health problem associated with diet and lots of ingredients are consumed unwittingly, like titianium oxide. I would also say, we don’t fully understand the impact chemicals and certain processes has had on us or our world yet… so it’s good to see attention is being given to the extant of the issue.
Chief Executive at The Food Farming & Countryside Commission
3 个月You’re right. It is not broken. But it is dysfunctional. The current system is only ‘efficient’ because it has externalised the real costs of the business models onto society. Reading Tim Jackson’s report alongside the House of Lords report strengthens the case for change. https://ffcc.co.uk/publications/the-false-economy-of-big-food
at Strategic Innovation Ltd
3 个月Interesting, and well-written response Holmach Ltd. I suspect you would find yourself agreeing with a lot of what was being discussed at the #thefoodconversation yesterday - which works closely with the House of Lords committee. I agree that the food system is almost miraculous in its efficiency. But the commission was about food, diet and obesity. The system is broken in the sense of the outcomes - not the efficiency. That cannot be realistically contested. This same realisation of society is perhaps one of the most significant contributory factors that just won Trump his election. MAHA (although many over here are unaware of that) If we can produce a wonderfully efficient food system that makes us all sick, we can reinvent it to make us all healthy. Surely? If so, we need food process creators like yourselves on board. Making products that shorten the lifespan of consumers is a bad business model in the long run, as Big Tobacco already found out. Making convenient, healthy meals therefore presents a huge business opportunity. Why don't you get involved? Sue Pritchard and so many others are exceptionally friendly folks and want to listen to all perspectives. Join the conversation.
Consultant
3 个月What a great response Chris