Failure to exempt cheese from ban ‘wrongheaded’

The Irish Farmers’ Association has described as “wrongheaded” the decision by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland not to exempt cheese but to “persist” with classifying it as less healthy for children than diet cola.

The IFA’s national dairy committee chairman Kevin Kiersey said that, as parents, dairy farmers were just as concerned as anyone by the increased incidence of obesity in children.

“The BAI’s suggestion that cheese should be treated the same way for advertising purposes as junk foods such as confectionery, crisps or sugary soft drinks, and that it is somehow less healthy than diet cola, is based on poor methodology and flawed analyses, and is fundamentally wrong,” he said.

“Cheese provides a concentrated source of calcium — an element lacking from many children’s and teenagers’ diets — and many other valuable nutrients.

“The value of dairy and cheese in children’s diets is well documented, and both the FSAI and the Department of Health recommend three to five portions of dairy products a day for children and teenagers. Low or full-fat cheese, in moderate portion sizes, must be part of the options available to parents and kids as part of a balanced diet.”

Safefood welcomed the code but said it fell short of the need to restrict advertising to children between the hours of 6pm and 9pm.

“Given the high numbers of children watching prime time television, children are still exposed and need protection after the ‘traditional hours’ of children programming,” it said.

Food and Drink Industry Ireland said the draft code was “based on flawed science, would have little impact on childhood obesity rates and was a threat to our international reputation as a food island”.

FDII director Paul Kelly said: “The nutrition model in the code is simply copy- and-pasted from Britain, without any reference to valuable Irish research on the subject.

“The British system is unscientific, out of date and based on the concept of a 100g measure rather than on the actual amount people eat.”