Copyright dailystar
Yoghurts and fruit juices are to be classified as junk food . Health chiefs plan to rebadge hundreds of fruit yoghurts, breakfast cereals and juices as ‘unhealthy’ in a bid to help the nation’s fight against obesity. Supermarkets are expected to be blocked from putting these items at the front of their stores and near checkouts. The items are also expected to be banned from “buy-one-get-one-free” deals and can only be advertised after 9pm. It would mean cereals such as Rice Krispies, explicitly targeted at children, could only appear on TV after the watershed. The changes come as ministers prepare to publish an update to the UK’s nutrition classification system within weeks. It has not been revised in decades. Government sources said the regulation would not automatically be applied to the extra products saying it would consult businesses over the changes. But supermarket chiefs said they were braced for change. Bosses said the proposals mean the majority of cereals, juices and fruit yoghurts will switch from being classed as ‘healthy’ to ‘unhealthy’. This would include Kellogg’s Bran Flakes and Innocent’s Orange juice. These products, which will be classed as HFSS or ‘products high in fat, salt and sugar’, would then face the same restrictions as doughnuts, crisps and biscuits. Ministers are due to consult supermarkets and food companies early next year on how quickly they can refit their stores and update their recipes to reflect the change to the classifications. Industry sources have accused ministers of repeatedly ‘moving the goalposts’ on anti-obesity rules. Andrea Martinez-Inchausti, the deputy director of food policy at the British Retail Consortium, said: “If you are a customer trying to understand what a healthy option is, according to this score, there’s no difference between having a pain au chocolate and a high-fibre breakfast cereal.” Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith claimed the changes were ‘nanny statery gone mad’. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems and costs the NHS billions. “We are taking action to ensure we have the healthiest generation of children ever.”
