Labor can use 'heavy arm of regulation' to improve people's nutrition

Wes Streeting has said he doesn't «really want to do bans.» but criticized food companies. Photo: Stéphane Rousseau

Labor can use the 'heavy hand of regulation' to improve people's diets, shadow health secretary says.

Wes Streeting said he was 'not particularly keen to ban' but suggested that his party would act to protect children from companies promoting unhealthy options.

He said Labor expects «greater accountability» from the food industry when it comes to encouraging «better choices» as part of a broader campaign for disease prevention.

He also refused to rule out minimum alcohol prices — a policy , which he supported when he was president of the National Union of Students (NUS). .

Mr. Streeting previously pledged to ban junk food advertising targeted at children by 2025 and called the sugar tax on soft drinks a «successful intervention and role model.»

'A great deal of responsibility&#39 ;

Speaking to Laura Kuensberg on BBC Sunday, he said he would like to work with food and drink manufacturers to study product formulation and «how we improve people's nutrition.»

«I would rather do this without the heavy hand of government regulation. I don't particularly want to ban anything,» he said.

“But then you see how Nestle sells the new KitKat cereal for kids and even has the audacity to say it's nutritious. This is not serious on the part of Nestle.

“So I expect more responsibility from food and beverage manufacturers to see how they can help us empower people to make healthier choices, better choices, so that we can reduce incidence of chronic diseases.

Nestle has said it has never used the word «nutritious» in a UK advertisement for its KitKat cereal. The company has admitted that it has removed the term from material on its global website after being heavily criticized by former government health minister Henry Dimbleby.

When asked if it was considering imposing price floors on alcohol, Mr. Streeting said: A number of things we're looking at in terms of prevention, public health measures.

«We want to make sure we're not just living longer, but living healthier lives longer, which means we are doing our best to address what are known as the social determinants of ill health, as well as those factors that influence things like chronic disease.

“We are looking at a number of measures. I'm not prepared to make any commitments one way or another.»

He also vowed to go «much further» than the government on smoking and vaping, lashing out at companies that sell to children and youth » like a ton of bricks.