Memorandum by the Dairy Council (WP 10)
The Dairy Council welcomes this opportunity
to comment on the Department of Health's White Paper entitled
"Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier" which
was published on 16 November 2004.
The Dairy Council was established in 1920 and
is an independent, non-profit making organisation representing
dairy farmers and processors across England, Scotland and Wales.
The Dairy Council provides balanced, credible and consistent information
about milk and dairy products and their role in a balanced diet.
We provide evidence-based literature to health professionals,
industry, consumers and the media. We believe that the White Paper
provides an opportunity to deliver a change in public health policy
and that it is imperative that this opportunity is seized.
The long awaited White Paper covers a range
of health issues which are relevant to the work of The Dairy Council
and we welcome the opportunity to work with government, to improve
nutrition and promote a healthy balanced diet for all.
1. COMMUNICATING
HEALTH MESSAGES
AND MARKETING
HEALTH
The White Paper states that "messages about
health are sometimes inconsistent or uncoordinated and out of
step with the way people actually live their lives". The
Dairy Council agrees that there is a need for consistent and practical
messages regarding nutrition and health that are relevant to the
way people live and that are achievable. We believe it is important
to offer consumers clear, consistent and simple health messages,
which are scientifically based.
Consumers need to understand exactly what constitutes
a correct portion size. The Dairy Council successfully conducts
public health campaigns such as the 3-A-Day™ campaign,
which provides information regarding portion sizes for dairy products
ie a small pot of yogurt, a matchbox size piece of cheese and
a glass of milk. We also promote the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension) which informes consumers about how eating
three portions of low-fat dairy products, five portions of fruit
and vegetables and a low salt intake can reduce high blood pressure.
The White Paper suggests developing a climate
in which health could be marketed to the public. The Dairy Council
has been promoting the nutrition and health benefits of milk and
dairy as part of a balanced diet for 85 years. We believe that
advertising can be used to encourage healthy lifestyles, particularly
promoting a balanced diet. The Dairy Council successfully increased
the nutritional awareness of milk through the White Stuff campaign.
This campaign was run in conjunction with Britain's farmers and
dairies to encourage adults to drink milk more frequently and
to remind people that milk is a credible alternative to any soft
drink. The White Stuff campaign was also used successfully to
promote school milk bars in secondary schools.
A further example of The Dairy Council's efforts
to communicate health messages to as many people as possible is
our provision of nutrition information leaflets in English, Welsh
and Punjabi and we will continue to support the dissemination
of health information to all.
Evidence suggests that, in order to be successful,
a social marketing campaign must be both significant, scientifically
sound and sustained and therefore substantial resources are required.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Department of
Health and other interested parties to share expertise in developing
such a campaign for the future.
The White Paper acknowledges that people currently
obtain information about health and nutrition from a range of
sources. One of these sources is the media. The Government recognises
the scale of media interest in diet and health and that there
is a need for information provided to the media to be accurate
and accessible. As a result, from the beginning of 2005, the Department
of Health will provide support for the development of a National
Centre for Media and Health. The Dairy Council would encourage
the Department of Health to recognise the value and excellence
of the Science Media Centre, an independent venture working to
promote the voices, stories and views of the scientific community
when science hits the headlines, and to develop a National Centre
for Media and Health which works along similar lines. The Dairy
Council would be happy to work with a well run and organised centre
for media and health which uses scientific evidence to promote
a balanced dietary approach to health—much like the way
The Dairy Council works at the moment.
2. INCREASING
AVAILABILITY OF
HEALTHIER FOODS
The White Paper states "Health ministers
and the FSA are leading discussions with industry to identify
and implement a range of proposals to increase opportunities for
people to make healthy choices in what they eat. These are aimed
at increasing the availability of healthier foods including reducing
the levels of salt, added sugars and fat in prepared and processed
food and drink and increasing access to vegetables". The
dairy industry responded many years ago to the demand for low-fat
foods with the result that semi-skimmed milk now outsells whole
milk. The recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey of adults
found that semi-skimmed milk was the usual milk consumed either
as a drink or with cereal for the highest proportion of men and
women across all age groups. Few other examples exist where a
low-fat variety has been successfully developed and now outsells
the conventional product. In addition to low-fat milks, the dairy
industry now also produces a wide array of low-fat yogurts, fromage
frais and reduced-fat cheeses. The Dairy Council will continue
to monitor new scientific research and recommend ways of developing
products to offer healthier choices to consumers.
3. FOOD LABELLING
The White Paper suggests that consumers find
it difficult to understand current nutrition labelling and that
action should be taken to simplify labelling and make it mandatory
on all packaged foods. The Dairy Council welcomes that the White
Paper reinforces the need for farming, industry and the Government
to work together by coordinating action and promoting consistent
messages and healthier food choices. The Department of Health
together with the Food Standards Agency is currently developing
criteria based on fat, sugar and salt contents of foods in order
to outline the contribution of such a food to a healthy diet.
The aim of such "signposting" of foods will enable consumers
to make an informed decision about which foods they can incorporate
into their diets to achieve a healthy and balanced diet.
The Dairy Council agrees that consumers need
clear and accurate labelling to make healthy and informed choices;
however, it is important that any new scheme is supportive of
consumers and does not confuse them or demonise particular foods.
For example, cheese due to its high salt content may be seen as
unhealthy despite its high calcium levels.
The Dairy Council believes that in reality,
it is not a particular food but the frequency of its consumption
together with portion size, which is central in determining the
role a food plays in a balanced diet. We feel that the existing
Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) system could be better promoted.
These values, which are currently printed on packaging of many
foods, enable consumers to estimate the contribution of a particular
food to their daily intake of energy, salt or fat. The GDA system
could be extended to include estimates of beneficial nutrients
such as calcium. Indeed GDAs in combination with portion sizes
could be a valuable means of assisting consumers in making healthy
food choices.
The Dairy Council is currently preparing its
response to the FSA consultation document on food labelling and
welcomes the opportunity to be part of new food labelling discussions.
4. CHILDREN,
YOUNG PEOPLE
AND SCHOOLS
The Dairy Council welcomes the Government's
proposals on improving the diet and nutrition of children and
young people.
The Dairy Council agrees that nutrition plays
a key role in a healthy start to life. We welcome the Government's
initiative to provide "eligible pregnant women (including
all pregnant women under 18), breastfeeding mothers and young
children in low incomes families with vouchers that can be exchanged
for fresh fruit and vegetables, milk and infant formula".
However, we are concerned that children attending nursery schools
and day care facilities will receive either milk or fruit and
not both. In our response to the Department of Health's Healthy
Start Consultation, The Dairy Council highlighted its strong concerns
about the range of nutrients that children in this age group would
be missing out on, if nurseries schools and day care providers
are forced to make a choice between milk and fruit. Milk is a
valuable source of energy, vitamins, (particularly B vitamins)
and minerals, (particularly calcium) which are important for normal
growth and development. Fruit also contains a variety of vitamins
and minerals as well as phytonutrients and dietary fibre, which
are important in the diet. However, 100g of milk provides more
riboflavin and calcium than 100g of apple, apricot and banana
combined. To achieve a balanced diet and benefit from the nutrients
both milk and fruit have to offer, The Dairy Council would encourage
the Government to look at ways of providing both milk and fruit
to children in nursery and day care.
The White Paper states "Health Professionals
will have a more visible role in the Healthy Start scheme, providing
information and support to families on breastfeeding, child nutrition
and other key health issues", The Dairy Council already supports
health professionals, pregnant women and mothers by producing
literature on topics such as diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding,
weaning, healthy eating for the under-fives, looking after children's
teeth, nutrition and health in teenage years, and meeting calcium
requirements. Consequently, The Dairy Council has extensive contact
with nurseries, health visitors and other health professionals,
we would encourage the Government to take advantage of our expertise
and involve The Dairy Council in campaigns which educate health
professionals and promote healthy diets to children and young
people via nurseries and schools.
We welcome the Government's intention to improve
the nutritional quality of school meals, the provision of water
and the introduction of healthy drinks to schools. The Dairy Council
is involved in a number of promotional activities, targeting school-age
children and young people. These groups are particularly at risk
of a poor calcium intake because of erratic and unbalanced dietary
habits.
In 2002, The Dairy Council became aware that
head teachers in secondary schools were looking for a healthy
alternative to carbonated drinks machines, but there was no automatic,
easy solution. Working with the Health Education Trust, a pilot
project to introduce healthy drinks vending machines into 12 secondary
schools in four areas of the UK (Cumbria, Devon, Hertfordshire
and Pembrokeshire) was designed. The purpose of the feasibility
study, funded by the Food Standards Agency, was to investigate
if vending machines selling milks, water and fruit juices could
be profitable in secondary schools. At the conclusion of the study,
70,000 healthier drinks were bought from the vending machines.
It was evident that given the option students frequently chose
healthier options. In addition, many of the schools made profits
from the machines. The Dairy Council's experience in working with
schools indicates that, if conducted in an appropriate way, both
teachers and pupils will be receptive to enhanced nutrition education.
Between September 2001 and March 2002, The Dairy
Council also ran a school milk campaign in 10 Local Education
Authorities (Manchester, Stockport, Warwickshire, Coventry, Solihull,
Birmingham, Vale of Glamorgan, Barking & Dagenham, Havering,
and Redbridge). The objective of the campaign was to raise awareness
of the EU subsidised school milk scheme and persuade parents that
milk was important to young children. The campaign focused on
dispelling the "red tape" myth surrounding the subsidy
scheme and demonstrated that milk at break-time can make an important
contribution to a child's daily nutrient requirements. Target
audiences included parents, teachers, health professionals, MPs,
local councillors, school nurses and the dairy industry.
The Dairy Council would like to acknowledge
the Government's contribution to the subsidised school milk scheme
but point out that this scheme has not been promoted in the White
Paper. We would encourage the Government to continue its support
for the school milk scheme which enables all school children between
the ages of 5 and 11 to receive up to 250ml of whole or semi-skimmed
milk each day at a subsidised price. However, currently in the
UK only a minority of schools are offering this reduced price
milk, despite the vast scientific evidence supporting the role
of milk and dairy products in the diet of growing children. Furthermore
the White Paper does not address the contribution of dairy products
to the intake of important nutrients in diets of both children
and adults.
5. OBESITY
The White Paper highlights the fact that over
the last 20 years the number of children and adults who are overweight
and obese has increased significantly. Indeed, the prevalence
of obesity has trebled since the 1980s and currently almost 24
million adults are either overweight or obese. If current trends
continue, at least one-third of adults, one-fifth of boys and
one-third of girls will be obese by 2020. Obesity is a risk factor
for a number of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke,
certain cancers, type-2 diabetes and osteoarthritis.
The Dairy Council, which represents the dairy
industry on all matters relating to public health and nutrition,
encourages all dairy companies to offer consumers low-fat or reduced-fat
alternatives to conventional foods. In recent years the dairy
industry has responded by vastly increasing the number of low-fat
dairy products available to consumers.
It is interesting to note that whilst childhood
obesity is on the increase, milk consumption in this age group
is declining. We would suggest that more research needs to be
conducted into the potential association between these factors.
The Dairy Council currently recommends that primary schools offer
semi-skimmed milk at break-time, even though the subsidised milk
scheme offers a larger rebate for the provision of whole milk.
The Dairy Council applauds the Government's
plans to tackle the problem of obesity and looks forward to the
opportunity to work with government bodies, industry, retailers
and health professionals to stem the rise in obesity, particularly
in children.
6. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The Dairy Council welcomes the promotion of
increased physical activity. Societal shifts towards sedentary
behaviour are concerning, particularly in light of the increasing
numbers of children and adults who are overweight and obese in
the UK. Physically active people have 20-30% reduced risk of premature
death and up to 50% reduced risk of major chronic disease such
as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. A multi-faceted
approach is required to combat this rise in overweight and obesity
with physical activity and a balanced diet playing a key role.
The Dairy Council welcomes initiatives to increase the opportunity
for physical activity for all ages in a safe supportive environment.
January 2005
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