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TOWARDS BETTER ORAL HEALTH IN CHILDREN: ANALYSIS OF CONSULTATION RESPONSES
CHAPTER 9: ROLE OF MANUFACTURERS AND RETAIL OUTLETS
The consultation stated:
Diet is…crucial from the earliest age. Baby foods, for example, often contain high sugar levels. The "sweet tooth" acquired at this young age can last into later life. We need, therefore, to work with manufacturers and major retailers to minimise the sugar content of baby foods to ensure our children's oral health gets off to a healthy start. Products also need to be clearly labelled to identify sugar content.
Where fizzy drinks are sold, for example, within public sector buildings, opportunity could be taken to display notices, warning of the potentially adverse consequences for oral health.
The Food standards Agency is looking to work with consumers, enforcement authorities and industry to develop a set of guidelines on best practice in labelling and promotion for foods aimed at children.
A separate international review of advertising to children noted that...many European countries have introduced restriction on advertising and promotions.
The new Scottish Food and Health Co-Ordinator will be involved in activity to support primary producers, manufacturers and retailers to realise, to the full, their potential contribution toward improving health through diet.
Consultees views were:
In Brief: Many respondents considered that food manufacturers and retail outlets have a responsibility to contribute to good health and diets High sugar content in food aimed at children was seen as a major problem Respondents called for food labelling to be more accurate and relevant for the consumer The notion of health warnings on sugary foods are generally supported Opportunities were identified for closer working between oral health professionals, manufacturers and retail outlets It was considered that much potential exists for the development and use of more attractive packaging of healthy foods
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In Detail:
In general, people thought that food manufacturers and retail outlets had a responsibility towards contributing to good health and diets, but in the main, had conflicting interests, detrimental to those of children's oral health. A typical comment was that we "
need toaddress the adverse contribution of the food industry. We are up against multi-national companies with immense resources" (Govan Health Centre).
A major problem identified by large numbers of respondents was the high sugar content in many foods aimed at children, with some suspicious that food aimed at the Scottish market had even higher sugar levels than did food for consumption by others. Specific mention was made of the need for sugar free medicine (indiv 170, Scottish Specialists in Pharmaceutical Public Health, Greenock Medical Centre) and a ban on sugar in baby foods (indivs 45, 185, 351, 466, 799).
There was a clear call from many respondents for better, more accurate and relevant labelling of food products. For some, there was a need to legislate for mandatory improvements (Highland Area Dental Committee, Consultants in Dental Public Health, (CADO Group) with sugar, fat and salt content of products labelled clearly for parents to consider (Amicus). It was advocated that labelling should follow a uniform and straightforward system (Paediatric Dental Specialist 2140).
Some respondents thought that a stance needed to be taken against misleading labelling and promotion of unhealthy products (NHS Grampian, Beechbrae Education Centre), so that, for example, sugary foods were not mis-represented as healthy (indiv 170).
Many individuals and organisations considered that foods which continued to be produced with high sugar content should carry a health warning stating, for example "
these drinks/foods/sweets can cause irreparable damage to teeth…" then stating a pH value (indiv 594), or simply, "
will damage your child's teeth" (NCH Action for Children Scotland). Especial "meal deals" which included a sugary drink were singled out for tackling with retailers (Department of Community Social Services, Orkney Council).
Complaints were made about the vigorous promotion to children of sugary products at the check-out, with suggestions that the offending products be replaced with healthy snacks of dried fruit and raw vegetables (Scottish Civic Forum, indiv 170).
However, on the positive side it was felt that much could be done to work in tandem with manufacturers and retail outlets to improve children's oral health. Ideas included:
Oral health promoting posters in shops
Promotion of toothbrushes and toothpaste by supermarkets
Involvement of supermarkets in oral health promotion campaigns
Involving retailers in supplying healthy foods to healthy eating initiatives
Improving availability of fresh, affordable fruit and vegetables in local shops
Encouraging local newsagents to sell oral hygiene products
Reviewing pricing structures to make healthy products more competitively priced
In addition, it was thought that packaging and appearance of healthy options could be greatly improved to make them more attractive to the young purchaser. For example, "
one of the key factors in encouraging young people to eat fruit is the need for it to be easy to eat and attractively packaged" (Aberdeen City Council). Milk could be packaged in, "
appropriately sized containers" (NHS for the Valley Board) with free school milk packaged in novel and attractive ways (Greater Glasgow PCT, Dental Hospital and School). Water too could be packaged and promoted, "
in a manner attractive to children and teenagers" (Lomond and Argyll PCT, indiv 397).
From the industry perspective, much progress had already been made in terms of oral health promotion, the Scottish Food and Drink Federation outlining a raft of measures already put in place including the development of a "foodfitness" information programme, co-operating with government in implementing the Scottish Diet Action Plan, providing clearer, more accurate labelling and providing nutritional information on packaging.
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