Food & Health Alliance annual conference

The main focus of the conference was the government's plans for the country's first National Food Policy, currently out for consultation until the end of April.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said FHA members would play a key role in shaping and influencing the new policy and creating a healthier Scotland.

The key to beating the 'rising epidemic' of childhood obesity as well as reducing heart disease and increasing healthy life expectancy is joint working across all sectors of food and health, she said.

The government's joint delivery plan, to be published in the spring, aims to promote physical activity, healthy eating and maintaining a healthy weight. The NHS and local government also have vital roles to play. Local government support will be especially important in helping to create healthier environments and encourage healthier choices.

Gillian Barclay, from the Scottish Government's Food Industry Unit, said the National Food Policy was an attempt to bring together all the different strands of food and health policy in a clear vision. That vision, spelled out in the consultation document, is to make the nation healthier, wealthier and smarter with production making communities stronger and consumption respecting the local and global environment.

She accepted there is a tension between economic growth and the need for healthier, more accessible food. 'How do we have economic growth but still have affordable food for the general population?' she asked. But she suggested that a robust and coherent food policy could have a big impact on many of the government's strategic objectives.

At the same time consumers need to be educated to be more knowledgeable and questioning about the food they buy. She suggested food labelling might not only list the ingredients but indicate where and how the food was produced.

Conference chair Caroline Comerford, NHS Grampian's nutrition coordinator, urged members to respond positively to the proposals.
'It may be challenging and it may be difficult. But it's also a really big opportunity and I think we're ready for this opportunity.'

Delegates took part in six workshops in the morning aimed at examining the practical implications of the government's National Food Policy and then making recommendations for future action. The six workshops were:
• Working throughout the food chain
• Community action
• Food in the public sector
• Encouraging and supporting people to make healthier food choices
• Best possible start
• Tackling the obesogenic environment.

Attachments:

• FHA Conference 2008_170408.pdf