Nutrition policy for other countries

1. NDN 30403 NUTRITION
POLICY AND FOOD
SECURITY
ASSOC PROF. DR. SHARIFAH WAJIHAH WAFA BTE SST WAFA
FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
BA109
TUESDAY
1000-1300

2. LECTURE 9:NUTRITION POLICY FOR OTHER
COUNTRIES

3. OUTLINE
• NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• FOOD MARKETING
• TAXES AND SUBSIDIES
• PUBLIC INSTITUITIONS
• FOOD SUPPLY
• SUPPLY CHAIN
• PUBLIC AWARENESS

4. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS

5. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• New Zealand and Australia’s health claims standard
– Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard
1.2.7: Nutrition, health and related claims
• Under this standard, a health claim is any representation in food
labelling or advertising that links the food to a health effect.
• For example, 'Calcium is good for strong bones' is a health claim.
• Health claims & nutrition function claims can only be used on foods
with a healthier nutrient profile
• Requires approval for disease risk reduction health claims

6. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Why the standard was introduced
– reduce misleading health claims on food products
– increase consumer confidence in health claims, and
– provide clarity to government bodies enforcing the standard.
– provides clear and enabling provisions for truthful information
for consumers
– opportunities for industry innovation, and enforcement by
regulatory authorities.

7. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Nutrition content claims
– provide information about the presence, absence or level of
nutrients or biologically active substances in foods.
– For example, 'a good source of vitamin C' or 'gluten free’.

8. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Health claims
– voluntary statements on food labels and advertising that refer to
a relationship between a food and health.
– 2 types of health claims:
• General level health claims
– refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its effect on health.
– For example, 'Calcium is good for bones’.
– do not refer to a serious disease or a biomarker of a serious disease.
• High level health claims
– refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its relationship to a serious disease
or to a biomarker of a serious disease.
– For example, 'Diets high in calcium and vitamin D may reduce the risk of
osteoporosis'.

9. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• European Union’s mandatory nutrition labelling
– Requires a list of nutrient content on most pre-packaged foods
– Clearer and harmonised presentation of allergens (e.g. soy,
nuts, gluten, lactose) for prepacked foods (emphasis by font,
style or background colour) in the list of ingredients
– Requirement of certain nutrition information for majority of
prepacked processed foods
– Mandatory origin information for fresh meat from pigs, sheep,
goats and poultry
– Indication of substitute ingredient for 'Imitation' foods
– Clear indication of "formed meat" or "formed fish"

10. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Finland’s salt warning label
– Explicitly communicated high salt content
– Encouraged product reformulation through specific salt limits

11. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Finland and UK’s salt warning label
– What was the impact in the United Kingdom and Finland?
• Finland began working on salt reduction as early as the 1970s ,
including significant public awareness campaigns. In 1993, mandatory
salt labelling was introduced and products containing particularly high
levels of salt were also required to bear warning labels.
• This was accompanied by the introduction of a “Better Choice” logo,
supported by the Finnish Heart Association, which identified low-salt
options.
• Daily intake in Finland dropped from approximately 12g per day in the
late 1970s to as little as 6.5g among women by 20025.

12. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Finland and UK’s salt warning label
– What was the impact in the United Kingdom and Finland?
• Since the UK salt reduction program started in 2003/2004, a 10-15%
reduction in salt intake has been reported. Published figures show
average salt intake dropped from 9.5 g per day in 2000-2001 to 8.6 g
per day in 2008, with a further slight decline to 8.1g by 20116
• The salt content of key food products was reduced by 25-45%
• Both countries have established sound monitoring system of salt
consumption based on gold standard methods

13. NUTRITION LABELS AND CLAIMS
• Finland’s salt warning label
– Explicitly communicated high salt content
– Encouraged product reformulation through specific salt limits

14. FOOD MARKETING

15. FOOD MARKETING
• South Korea’s food advertising restrictions for
children
– Bans TV advertising for specific food categories during children’s prime time
viewing
– Also restricts gratuitous incentives when advertising children’s foods on TV,
radio and internet (such as offering free toys or gifts with the purchase of
nutritionally inadequate foods).
– This policy encourages a culture of healthy eating by downplaying the
prevalence and acceptability of a culture of EDNP foods and beverages
– This policy demonstrates that the South Korean government is prioritizing health
and nutrition for all residents.
– This program has the power to improve access to healthy and nutritious foods by
allowing those markets to advertise where and when EDNP foods cannot.

16. FOOD MARKETING

17. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES

18. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES
• Mexico’s sugary drinks tax
– In January 2014, the government of
Mexico added a 1 peso per litre excise
tax on any non-alcoholic beverage
with added sugar (powder,
concentrates or ready-to drink) to the
country’s Special Tax on Production
and Services
– Increases price of sugary drinks by
about 10%

19. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES
• Mexico’s sugary drinks tax
– The first two years of implementation
showed an average reduction of 7.6%
in the purchase of taxed sugary drinks
during 2014 and 2015.
– Households with the fewest resources
had an average reduction in
purchases of 11.7%.
– The study showed a 2.1% increase in
purchases of untaxed beverages,
particularly purchased bottled water.

20. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES
• Hungary’s public health tax
– Provides incentive for reformulation of selected food products through
taxing salt, sugar and caffeine content
– Effectively increases price at point of purchase of most targeted products
– Four years since the tax was introduced, consumption of taxable
unhealthy foods in Hungary has decreased.
– Many food manufacturers have reduced or eliminated unhealthy
ingredients in their products
– Population awareness of healthy eating has increased
– Approximately US$ 219 million in revenue has been raised and
earmarked for health spending.

21. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES
• French Polynesia’s tax on sugary products
– Taxes sugary drinks, confectionary, ice cream
– Between 2002 and 2006, tax revenue went to a preventive
health fund; from 2006, 80% has been allocated to the general
budget and earmarked for health

22. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES

23. TAXES AND SUBSIDIES
• New York City’s Health Bucks programme
– Provides direct incentive for low-income people to allocate
spending to fruits and vegetables
– Shows potential for scaling up

24. PUBLIC INSTITUITIONS

25. PUBLIC INSTITUITIONS
• New York City’s Food Standards
– aim to reduce the prevalence of chronic disease, such as
obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, by increasing
access to healthy foods and improving dietary intake.
– Apply to about 260 million meals/snacks served by all the city’s
public institutions, with a clear coordination body
– Nutrient standards apply to both public procurement and meal

26. PUBLIC INSTITUITIONS
• Slovenia’s school
nutrition law
– Bans vending machines
selling food and drink on
school property
– The ban complements
standards and subsidies
for school meals, cross-
curriculum nutrition
education, and a school
fruit programme

27. FOOD SUPPLY

28. FOOD SUPPLY
• Argentina’s salt law
– Sets maximum salt-levels for widely consumed foods, including
restaurant dishes, with clear penalties for infringement
– Includes complementary actions to raise awareness

29. FOOD SUPPLY
• UK’s voluntary salt
reduction targets
– Specific targets set for 80
food groups including
staples and convenience
foods
– Salt levels reduced in key
food products by 25-45%

30. FOOD SUPPLY
• South Africa’s mandatory salt-reduction targets
– Sets specific targets for salt reduction for 13 food categories n
Regulation enforced by government

31. FOOD SUPPLY

32. FOOD SUPPLY
• Denmark’s trans fat law
– Bans the sale of products containing trans fats
– Complete ban facilitates monitoring

33. FOOD SUPPLY
• Austria’s
trans fat
regulation
– Sets clear
limits on trans
fats for
different food
items
– Targets
producers and
retailers

34. FOOD SUPPLY
• Ghana’s fat content standards
– Limits fat levels in meat (domestic and imported)
– Reduces availability of high-fat meats, enforced by meat testing

35. FOOD SUPPLY
• Towards a trans-fat free Europe
– Denmark’s 2003 virtual ban on the sale of products containing
trans-fats was a world first
– Europe now leads the world in terms of the number of countries
that have taken action to eliminate trans-fats.

36. FOOD SUPPLY
• Towards a trans-fat free Europe
– What has been the impact of the ban in Denmark?
• The intake of trans-fats decreased among all age groups, and intake
now stands at around one tenth of previous level.
• Within one year most products on the Danish market were able to
comply with the new limit of 2g trans-fat per 100g fat
• The nutritional profile of food products improved including observed
increases in use of healthier fats (such as monounsaturated or
polyunsaturated fats).
• Denmark has recently experienced a significant decrease in mortality
from cardiovascular disease, which may be partly attributable to the
drop in trans-fat consumption.

37. SUPPLY CHAIN

38. SUPPLY CHAIN
• Singapore’s Healthier Hawker Programme
– Engages food supply chain (e.g. oil manufacturers) to increase
availability of healthier vegetable oils to street vendors at lower
price
– Street vendors using healthier oils can display a ‘Healthier
Choice’ symbol

39. PUBLIC AWARENESS

40. PUBLIC AWARENESS
• Western Australia’s Go for 2&5® fruit and vegetable
campaign
– A sustained multi-strategy social marketing campaign n Clearly
communicated, solutions-based, delivered by credible source

41. PUBLIC AWARENESS
• France’s National Nutrition & Health Programme:
Manger Bouger (2001–present)
– Widespread, comprehensive and sustained
– Applies across settings, including mandatory health messages
for all television advertising for processed foods and drinks

42. THANK YOU