Catherine Conlon: We've introduced health labelling on alcohol — time to do the same for junk food

At a time when health services are overwhelmed by chronic disease that is directly linked to poor diet, there has never been a better time for robust action on ultra-processed foods and to incentivise a healthy food market

Laced with additives that are crammed into tiny print on the side of the packet, we all instinctively know these hyper-palatable, colourfully wrapped products that consume half of our diet are now increasingly linked to both overweight and chronic disease. Picture: AP/M Spencer Green

The European Food Agency announced on July 19 that the bill to ban the production and marketing of synthetic food has passed the Italian senate.

Coldiretti, Italy’s biggest farmers’ association, lobbied for the ban, arguing homegrown produce needs to be shielded from "the attacks of multinational companies".