![\"Editorial](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_246768037-8933.jpg\")
\n\t\tDr Chris van Tulleken has urged the Government to take action (Credits: Ken McKay\/ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tDr Chris van Tulleken has urged the Government to take action (Credits: Ken McKay\/ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
Imagine it \u2013 you\u2019ve had a long day at work<\/a>. <\/p>\n You come home, open the fridge, sigh at your lack of food. You\u2019re exhausted. You\u2019re hungry. You\u2019ve got just a mere few hours before you have to go back to sleep and do it all over again.<\/p>\n The idea of spending an hour cooking doesn\u2019t appeal \u2013 so what do you do? <\/p>\n You head to your nearest supermarket \u2013 grab a ready meal, some cereal or perhaps some sausages or burgers. Maybe a packet of biscuits.<\/p>\n This is fine as a one-off, but if it\u2019s a regular habit, you could be exposing yourself to a further risk of\u00a0increased risk of heart attacks, strokes. high blood pressure<\/a>\u00a0and other illnesses.<\/p>\n Last month, factory-produced foods were linked to thousands of early deaths<\/a> in the UK, in a study counting the cost of packaged foods like ready meals and sugary cereals.\u00a0<\/p>\n It led to headlines including a Metro <\/strong>front page, but this study was just the latest linking highly processed foods to poor health.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Experts have now told Metro <\/strong>that politicians should stop worrying about the \u2018nanny state\u2019 and focus on taxing the unhealthy and addictive ultra-processed foods instead.<\/p>\n Dr Chris van Tulleken, who wrote the book on this with his 2023 bestseller Ultra-Processed People, told Metro<\/strong>: \u2018We know that ultra-processed food causes \u2013 not just is associated with \u2013 obesity, chronic kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, certain cancers, metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and anxiety<\/a> and depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018So it would almost have to cause increased death rates. It would be very odd if it didn\u2019t.\u2019<\/p>\n In 2018, a \u2018sugar tax\u2019 on pre-packaged drinks was introduced, and the government<\/a> is now considering widening it <\/a>to include milk-based drinks, such as milkshakes and pre-packaged lattes.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Dr van Tulleken told Metro<\/strong>: \u2018We\u2019re negotiating around \u201ccan we possibly add a bit of sugar tax to a frappuccino and a milkshake, in addition to a coke?\u201d I mean, this is angels on the head of a pin.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018There is no good reason for not implementing the salt and sugar taxes proposed in the National Food Strategy.\u2018<\/p>\n He was referring to a government-commissioned report into the UK\u2019s food by Henry Dimbleby. Published in 2021<\/a>, politicians have so far ignored its key recommendation for a \u2018Sugar and Salt Reformulation Tax\u2019, using additional revenue to get fresh fruit and veg to low-income families.<\/p>\n \t\t Metro <\/strong>spoke to Dr van Tulleken at the launch of a free online course by the Cookery School at Little Portland Street in London, aimed at fighting \u2018fake food\u2019 by giving people skills to cook from scratch.<\/p>\n Panellists told how politicians feared looking elitist by taking action, given how often they try to look relatable by eating chips<\/a>, pulling a pint<\/a>, or doing a shift at McDonald\u2019s<\/a>. <\/p>\n Sue Pritchard, chief executive of The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, told the audience that \u2018Big Food\u2019 companies were using the same playbook historically used by tobacco and fossil fuel companies, to \u2018undermine the evidence and frighten politicians into inaction\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWhat are UPFs?\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u2018UPFs are foods that have undergone significant processing and modification from their original state,\u2019 explains Dr Frankie Phillips, a registered dietitian with the British Dietetic Association.<\/p>\n \u2018Some definitions suggest that UPFs usually contain ingredients that aren\u2019t found in a typical kitchen e.g. artificial colours, preservatives, artificial flavours, and emulsifiers.<\/p>\n The NOVA classification scale <\/a>is the most widely used way to categorise UPF, distinguishing \u2018ultra-processed\u2019 from simply \u2018processed\u2019. <\/p>\n Processing isn\u2019t all bad\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s important not to villainise processed foods completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Dr Frankie explains: \u2018Processing isn\u2019t all bad, and sometimes it can even help as some nutrients are more easily available to the body when they are processed to some degree.<\/p>\n \u2018For example, canned tomatoes or tomato puree has more bioavailable antioxidants than a fresh tomato, and life is simply too busy to make everything from scratch all the time.\u2019<\/p>\n She said the current food system is \u2018damaging us\u2019, and told how many were hopeful that the Dimbleby report\u2019s publication would unlock change. <\/p>\n But media responded with \u2018industry talking points\u2019 such as \u2018nobody wants a nanny state,\u2019 \u2018these are just middle class concerns\u2019 and \u2018people just want cheap food\u2019, she said. <\/p>\n \u2018We do lots of work with citizens around the country<\/a>, and that\u2019s not what real people actually say at all. People really care about the quality of food they are feeding to their kids.\u2019<\/p>\n The UK eats more ultraprocessed food<\/a> than any other country in Europe, making up more than half the food consumed by adults, and more than two thirds of the foods eaten by children.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t Most supermarkets are a temple to mass-produced sauces, biscuits, meat, sweets, crisps, desserts, and microwave meals, and it generally works out cheaper to buy pre-prepared than cook from scratch \u2013 meaning the odds are stacked against those trying to eat healthily. <\/p>\n \u2018Traffic light\u2019 labelling of sugar, salt and fat is voluntary, but does not indicate the level of processing. <\/p>\n Dr van Tulleken, who is also an NHS doctor, said it was \u2018not our fault\u2019 that change has so far been slow.<\/p>\n He said the marketing budget of just one major food company could be \u2018two to three times the entire operating budget of the World Health Organisation\u2019, which was over \u00a35 billion this year. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\tGovernment food policies\t\t\t<\/p>\n There have been some key laws to make it through, despite opposition:<\/p>\n 2007: Ban on junk food advertising on children\u2019s TV comes into force<\/p>\n 2014: Introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals in England<\/p>\n 2018: The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), better known as the \u2018sugar tax\u2019 on packaged drinks introdued<\/p>\n 2019: Similar advertising ban on junk food across all Transport for London sites <\/p>\n October 2025: Junk food adverts on TV will be banned<\/a> before the 9pm watershed<\/p>\n But in his opinion, the biggest reason for lack of effective action is \u2018conflicts of interest\u2019.<\/p>\n In March, the government announced the Food Strategy Advisory Board<\/a> to look at how to \u2018restore pride in British food\u2019. <\/p>\n As well as the food minister Daniel Zeichner and chief medical officer Chris Whitty, its 14 members include reps from oven chip company McCain, packaged sandwich maker Greencore, Kerry Foods, Sofina Foods, and Sainsbury\u2019s. <\/p>\n Dr Van Tulleken said: \u2018As long as the policy makers include the industry that will be regulated, I think nothing will happen. It\u2019s important to speak to the food industry, understand the food industry, and have a cordial relationship \u2013 but they can\u2019t write the policy.\u2019<\/p>\n His sister-in-law Dr Dolly Van Tulleken co-authored Nourishing Britain, a political manual on food, along with Henry Dimbleby, and also spoke on the panel last month. <\/p>\n She found there have been almost 700 policies floated since obesity reduction targets were published 30 years ago, yet there has been an \u2018epic failure\u2019 to reduce food-related ill health. <\/p>\n Looking at how things could improve, she said George Osborne\u2019s sugar tax was developed in secret, \u2018without industry in the room\u2019 until it was already at a late stage. <\/p>\n Calling for politicians to \u2018feel the heat\u2019, she said added that \u2018it\u2019s important to make the positive argument that this is about people wanting a delicious, enjoyable food system.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Cook for Victory\u2019, named to reference a war against \u2018fake food\u2019, is running online for another two weeks<\/a> every evening live from 6pm. <\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_251235849-47ee-e1747232407285.jpg\")
\n\t\tThere is growing recognition of the harms of so-called UPFs (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n![\"Ready](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_251085620-e43c.jpg\")
\n\t\tMost ready meals are hardcore UPFs (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_251218372-34ed.jpg\")
\n\t\tLeft to right: Rosalind Rathouse, Dr Chris van Tulleken, Dr Dolly van Tulleken, Sue Pritchard, and Kate Quilton (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n
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