FoodDrinkEurope recognises the importance of tackling cardiovascular diseases through effective prevention measures that support healthier dietary patterns and informed consumer choice. Today’s EP report on the Safe Hearts Plan marks an important step in that direction. For years now, Europe’s food and drink makers have been improving recipes to boost the nutritional profile of products, while ensuring a high-level of food safety, quality, and affordability.
While today’s report rightly focuses on the preventive-side of the health puzzle, policymakers must acknowledge that public health measures, especially diet and food-related measures, do not exist in a vacuum. Decisions taken in nutrition policy can have significant knock-on effects for food affordability, food security, sustainability, and consumer access to nutritious products – and such decisions should be carefully considered.
Future initiatives in this space should be guided by robust science and informed by a clear understanding of how modern food systems work. The objective should be policies that deliver identifiable health improvements while preserving food safety, sustainability, and affordability.
FoodDrinkEurope’s nutrition director Sara Lamonaca said, “The real test will come when policymakers translate ambition into regulation. Good public health policy must measurably improve health outcomes without creating unintended consequences for food safety, affordability, food security, or sustainability.”
