Hanafin won’t crack down on junk food

EDUCATION Minister Mary Hanafin says she won’t intervene to prevent junk food being advertised or sold in schools, despite the growing number of children who are overweight.

“Schools are privately- owned, privately-managed institutions which, although funded by the State, enjoy a large degree of autonomy,” Ms Hanafin said.

“It is, therefore, primarily a matter for each school to decide on the types of food that are available on the school premises.”

Tomorrow, the National Heart Alliance will launch a position paper which is expected to recommend, among other things, a crackdown on the marketing of unhealthy food in schools. The paper is a direct response to a report published earlier this year by the European Heart Network.

That report, entitled “The Marketing of Unhealthy Food to Children in Europe”, found one-in-five children across the continent were overweight, with an increased risk of developing chronic disease as a result.

Schools represented “a growing marketing channel” for food advertisers, the report said.

The advertisers routinely sponsor events, offer educational or sporting equipment in return for tokens collected from their products, and place vending machines on school premises.

“Commercial sponsorship in schools in Ireland has increased to try to generate income,” the report noted.

Despite this, the Government has failed to introduce comprehensive policies to encourage children to eat sensibly, the report added.

“Additional measures should be introduced to protect children from all other forms of ‘unhealthy’ food marketing, including though schools,” it summarised.

It is understood the National Heart Alliance will outline measures it sees necessary in its position paper tomorrow. The alliance is an independent organisation comprising a range of medical and public health professionals and groups, including the Institute of Public Health, the Irish Cancer Society, the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Sports Council and the National Youth Council.

“It’s clear that schools are increasingly becoming a vehicle for the marketing of junk food,” an alliance spokeswoman said yesterday.

Schools here generally don’t provide meals, but vending machines, sponsorship of events, and token-collection programmes are all becoming more common, she said.

However, Ms Hanafin, said: “I know that many schools have developed healthy eating policies in cooperation with their parents’ association, and I would encourage others to do so.”

Ms Hanafin outlined her position in a written response to a parliamentary question from Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe.