[Ed. I just said to the British ex-pat in my home, “Why can’t adults regulate for themselves what they and their children eat without MORE freaking government intervention?!” Which is another reason why we live here and not in Britain.]
Health campaigners welcomed the proposals, saying no one could object to consumers being offered smaller sizes.
Smaller chocolate bars, mini drinks cans to be standard under Government plans
Some of Britain’s favourite snacks, including Mars bars, Cadbury Dairy Milk and cans of Coca-Cola, will all be shrunk in size, under controversial new plans to tackle the obesity epidemic.
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Published: 7:00AM BST 29 Jul 2009
The Daily Telegraph
A bar of Cadbury Dairy milk, currently 49g [1.7 ounces US], should also be sold in 40g [1.4 ounces US0 sizes, while a Mars Bar and Twix, both 58g [2 ounces US], should be made in 50g [1.8 ounces US] portions, the Food Standards Agency has recommended.
Cans of fizzy drinks, currently 330ml [10 ounces US], should be sold in a significantly smaller size of 250ml [8.4 ounces US].
The Food Standards Agency said it had no intention of scrapping the existing sizes, but it wanted food and drink companies to start manufacturing the smaller sizes, “which in time will become the standard”. The proposals, subject to consultation, are likely to be very controversial with food companies, many of whom have factories set up to manufacture specific sized packets of food.
One industry insider said: “This is going to cost an awful lot of money. The idea that Coca-Cola will rip out all their factories – which produce a European standard size – to start bottling a smaller sized can seems unlikely.”
Julian Hunt at the The Food and Drink Federation said food and drinks companies had already “undertaken considerable work” to offer smaller portion sizes in many snacks and packaged food.
“But this is a really tricky issue. There is a difference between offering consumers a greater choice and micro managing how companies run their businesses,” he said…
…The FSA’s will make a ruling after consulting with Britain’s food companies and lobby groups. Its recommendations tend to be adopted as Government policy.
Entire article at When the government controls health care…
