WHO Accused Of Burying Report Critical Of Food Industry Advertising

[hatrack]

"The World Health Organisation was yesterday accused of burying a report recommending that curbs on junk food advertising be incorporated into global food standards. Activists say hiding the report, which also calls for tough limits on sugar, salt and fat, comes after pressure from the food industry and its US backers.

The report, commissioned from outside consultants, was completed in the summer but has not seen the light of day. It recommends that the Codex Alimentarius - the global food standards code set up by the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation - should contain not just safety and quality information, but nutritional guidance as well.

The code is not binding on governments, but is influential with those who set their own standards, like the UK, and has particular significance for developing countries that do not.

The report, of which the Guardian has a copy, recommends sweeping changes to the code as part of the fight against the global obesity epidemic. It was commissioned during the tussle over the WHO's global strategy on diet, physical activity and health, which proposed limits on the consumption of fats, sugars and salt and was fiercely opposed by some in the food industry. The strategy was finally passed by the World Health Assembly in May."

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1341914,00.html

[TO Kid]

1. Wouldn't be the first time

Remember that report showing secondhand tobacco smoke to be harmless? They (and most of the media) buried that one too.