Marketing restrictions and reformulation of foods to reduce their sodium, sugar, saturated fat content. With these issues, EU member states are again confronting the alarming rise in cases of childhood overweight and obesity. In Europe, in ages 6-9 the incidence has risen from one in four children in 2008 to one in three in 2010.
The draft of a ‘Childhood Obesity Plan 2014-2010,’ discussed in Athens, Feb. 24, 2014, is a great hope, given the substantial failure of the ‘EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health,’ a public-private platform established at the European Commission a good 9 years ago.
The many programs and commitments made on a voluntary basis by large industrial and distribution groups have often proved ineffective, their implementation uneven across countries. Public initiatives to promote the consumption of fruits vegetables and milk, on the other hand, are not sufficient to supplement the widespread nutrition education deficit.
Nutritional Responsibility recurs, invariably, as a crucial element in the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) of all operators involved in the food supply chain,’from farm to fork’.
