The state secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is investigating the options of setting (additional) requirements for the composition of foodstuffs in national regulations. One of the options is to legislate maximum levels of salt, sugar and/or saturated fat in certain foods. The background to this study is the National Product Improvement Approach (NAPV). The NAPV was launched in 2022 and is part of the National Prevention Agreement. In it, it was agreed to make it easier for people to choose healthy food. This is because half of the Dutch struggle with obesity. The NAPV should broaden and accelerate improvements.
These are products to which salt or sugar have been added or where the amount of saturated fat can be reduced. In 2022, RIVM set three limit values per substance (low, medium and high). The aim of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is that in 2030, for each product group, half of the products should be in the best category and no more than 10 per cent in the worst in terms of the amount of salt, sugar or saturated fat. The new criteria are divided into three limit values. See the RIVM list.
Saturated fat for meat preparations is low 2.5, medium 4.4 and high 7.0. For processed meats it is low 7.0, medium 9.0 and high 10.
Salt consumption for meat preparations is low 0.95, medium 1.2 and high 1.6. For processed meats, it is 1.9 low, 2.1 medium and 2.3 high.
Many artisanal meats are in the high salt segment. Partly because they traditionally use a lot of colourozo salt. This is the most commonly used form of preservation for SMEs.
In addition, the percentage of saturated fat for traditionally produced sausages such as smoked sausages and knakworst is unachievable because it traditionally contains chinnebaking bacon with a high saturated fat content. The maximum standard ensures that many traditional products will not achieve this. That is why it is important to have an exception for artisanal products. And because butchers do not calculate nutritional values (not mandatory if it is not pre-packaged), this law also seems unenforceable for the artisan sector.
The central question for the legislative enquiry was: "To what extent can the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport maintain or (continue to) draft national regulations based on the interest of health protection that sometimes involve the application of the precautionary principle, which are in line with the free movement of goods and in particular the principle of mutual recognition?"
In 2022, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the RIVM still believe that consumers themselves are responsible for making healthy choices. This is where the five-slice scale and the choose conscious logo can help. But now VWS suddenly wants to enforce this with legislation. One of the reasons is because there is so much overweight in the Netherlands. But is that right?
According to the mundi world index Netherlands is on the 98e place in the world with 20.4% obese adults. And this is a lot less than in countries like America (36.2), Turkey (32.1), UK (27.8), Ireland (25.3), Greece (24.9), Spain (23.8) and Belgium (22.1). So why the urgency for such strict legal guidelines in the Netherlands?
As a final conclusion, the study states that national legislation is possible. To the extent that the amount of salt, sugar and/or saturated fat for a given food is not exhaustively harmonised in the EU, a member state can impose national requirements for it. These requirements must then comply with Articles 34 and 36 TFEU. In addition, the Mutual Recognition Regulation may apply in individual cases.
But if sugar, salt and saturated fat have to be substituted for chemical additives for taste and shelf life, how healthy(er) will our food be?
Source: https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/7fb86f4e-611d-4467-bb90-2d8d9d25bf63/file
