British Prime Minister Liz Truss is preparing to scrap sugar taxes on soft drinks and ditch some anti-obesity measures to ease the cost-of-living crisis in the country, The Times reported on Thursday citing government sources.
British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered health officials to review obesity control measures, a move that is likely to result in the removal of many of them, the newspaper said.
Unhealthy Food
The Times reported that a ban on 'buy one, get one free' promotions on unhealthy food, which was delayed by the UK government earlier this year amid rising costs, is now unlikely to go ahead.
A ban on sweets and chocolates on display at the checkout, set to take effect next month, was also in doubt.
In an August interview with the Daily Mail, Truss said she would scrap plans to restrict multi-buy deals on food and drink high in fat, salt, or sugar and would not impose any new levies on unhealthy food.
"(People) don't want the government telling them what to eat," Truss said.
In July of this year, Kellogg lost its legal challenge to government plans to crack down on less healthy food after a British court rejected its claims that the government's formula to measure the nutritional value of cereals is wrong.
Elsewhere, German retailer Kaufland has reduced sugar, salt and/or fat content from more than 300 own-brand products since 2018, which it described as a crucial 'interim goal'.
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