Childhood obesity: MP delighted with food bill progress

1 November 2005

Labour MP Mary Creagh attempted to build on growing support for her Children's Food Bill last week as it received its second reading in the House of Commons. She highlighted increasing rates of childhood obesity, which she blamed on products such as sausages "which contain more salt than seawater and are made of mechanically separated turkey".

The Wakefield MP said she was absolutely delighted that the educationwhite paper promised to introduce two parts of her bill - minimumnutritional standards for all school meals and a ban on junk food inschool vending machines.

However, the bill came under attack from Conservative backbenchers. MarkHarper, the MP for the Forest of Dean, said: "To solve the problem ofobesity, we would do better to focus on exercise rather than only onfood." Putney MP Justin Greening added: "Surely, a junk food advertisingban is only a temporary solution." The bill is due to return to theCommons on 16 June next year.

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