6 June 2013

2 minute read

Europe

Cheese looked likely to be outlawed from household screens whereas diet coke was given advertising approval. 

IFA National Dairy Committee Chairman Kevin Kiersey has strongly welcomed the decision saying that calcium and other nutrients within cheese make it excellent in a balanced meal. 

"The value of dairy and cheese in children’s diets is well documented, and both the FSAI and the Department of Health recommend 3 to 5 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”.

Mr Kiersey added that the  proposal that cheese should be treated the same way for advertising purposes as other foods such as confectionery or sugary soft drinks  was wrong and that classifying cheese as less healthy than diet cola was based on flawed methodology.

“Recent studies have clearly shown that the prevalence of obesity among the under 18 has increased in the last 15 years, but that cheese consumption in this age group has remained stable and is in fact substantially less than the recommended daily portion of 28 grammes. There is no link between the incidence of overweight in Irish children and cheese consumption, and therefore no justification for the demonisation of cheese by the BAI,” Mr Kiersey said.

Government food safety report, Food Harvest 2020, has targeted a 50 per cent growth in the dairy sector for the next 10 years to meet domestic demand and profit from export earnings. 

With this in mind, Mr Kiersey added that restricting legitimate marketing activity for the industry was 'unacceptable' and 'unjustified'. 

TheCattleSite News Desk