Stepping up to the plate - Industry in action on public health
FDF is pleased to be a signatory of the Public Health
Responsibility Deal and to work in partnership with
the Secretary of State and other stakeholders.
In this section:
As this report highlights, members of the Food and Drink
Federation have long been 'stepping up to the plate'
when it comes to the many different ways in which
they have taken bold action in response to growing
societal concerns about complex public health issues
such as obesity.
Foreword by:
Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health
"Public health is everyone's business. As
this report shows, business is a powerful
infl uence on the lives of all of us, whether
as employers, through their commercial
actions, or community action.
I am
delighted that the FDF and its members
are already taking action and making clear
their ongoing commitment to engage fully,
positively, and proactively with initiatives to
benefit public health, and in particular with
the Responsibility Deal.
The Responsibility
Deal is about achieving more, more quickly,
in improving the public's health, through
sustained action and agreement through
joint voluntary action. FDF members that
have already signed up are in the vanguard.
I encourage FDF members that have not
yet done so to sign up, and to contribute
to the design of further pledges to improve
public health. If the full strength of business
expertise is directed towards activities to
encourage and enable people to make
healthier choices, as many FDF members
do already, the benefi ts could be great."
Fiona Dawson, President Mars Chocolate UK
"As Chair of the FDF's Health and
Wellbeing Steering Group I am delighted
to contribute to this report. The Coalition
Government's Responsibility Deal
brings with it many challenges for the
food industry and is demanding in
its expectations of us all.
This report
provides a snapshot of the ways in which
FDF Members are doing our part - from
reformulating recipes to reduce salt
and saturated fat levels in some of the
nation's favourite products, to helping our
employees to lead healthier, more active
lives, and sharing this expertise with a
range of other businesses.
The challenges we face are not new,
indeed many of the case studies
contained in this report have been years in
the making, but the Responsibility Deal is
groundbreaking in its approach.
I am proud of the ways in which FDF
Members are stepping up to the plate."
Dr. Susan Jebb, Head of Nutrition and Health MRC
"Poor diet is a major contributor to illhealth.
Personal food choices are strongly
infl uenced by the actions of the food
industry through the products provided
and promoted to the public. Accordingly,
reformulation is a key component in a
portfolio of work to enable consumers to
achieve dietary goals.
The UK food industry is recognised as a
world leader in salt reduction, but there
is more to be done. There are isolated
examples of reductions in saturated fat but
this is not yet widespread. Further work is
also needed to reduce the energy density of
food, not just in niche products, but across
the product range.
This report celebrates the achievements so
far and I congratulate those companies who
have invested in making these changes. But,
by omission, it highlights the scale of the
task yet to be done. The FDF must continue
to champion the reformulation agenda if the
food industry is to 'step-up' its contribution
to improvements in public health."
More information