Jessica Burt, food regulatory lawyer at Mills & Reeve, looked at the next steps for obesity policy in the England at Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum Policy Conference that was held on 15 May. Jessica was a speaker at the Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum alongside representatives from industry, government, academia and regulatory bodies, including Outsmart, Public Health England and Cancer Research.
Key areas that were discussed were as follows:
Considerations for the basis for regulation and its’ purpose, whether objectives were achieved or achievable, and the role of voluntary guidance vs legislation. The role of unintended consequences in policy without a specific target and the very real consequences of obesity. Particular reference was made to the ‘Tackling Obesity: 2020 strategy’ of prevention and the move to the “moonshot” of the 2025 ‘Fit for the future 10 year plan’ whole systems approach. The most recent advertising restrictions were considered more broadly in the context of what achievable strategy might come next alongside the revisions to the Nutrient Profile Model to the 2018 version that is currently being consulted on.
The firm will continue to play a role at the Westminster Forum.
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