The Observer view on the government’s environment and obesity plans

"There are echoes of the same toothless voluntarism the government has adopted in its obesity strategy. Consumer palates have been conditioned over time by food producers to want cheap – and addictive – fat, sugar and salt. This undermines the argument that healthy eating should be a matter of consumer choice. Because there is a strong first-mover taste disadvantage to reducing levels of fat, sugar and salt, the only answer lies in the compulsory product reformulation that has proved so effective in improving population nutrition around the world. Yet the government insists on leaving it up to food producers, a recipe for inaction."