A new tax on the menu

NEW taxes are on the way that could spell doom for some in the food industry.

Even before this week’s budget, they were looming. Here in Ireland, Minister for Health and Children James O’Reilly has signalled a possible sugar tax, primarily aimed at carbonated drinks. This may raise up to raise €50 million a year in Ireland. Similar sugar tax legislation will come into effect in France, in January.

Mr O’Reilly says he will write to fast food outlets to ask them to introduce calorie labelling, rather than introduce a broader ‘fat tax’ along the lines already in force in Denmark, which is a globally significant dairy producing country like Ireland. The Danes have imposed a surcharge on foods that are high in saturated fat. Butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed food products that contain more than 2.3% saturated fat are subject to tax in Denmark, at the rate of 16 Danish kroner (about €2.15) per kg of saturated fat. That works out at about 50c on the price of a burger, and 40c on the price of a small packet of butter.