The celebrity chef spoke to a select committee of MPs yesterday, which was discussing childhood obesity, as he continued to push his proposed introduction of a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened drinks.
Oliver has already introduced a tax of 10p on sugary drinks in his own restaurants and told the committee that there has been a 7% drop in the number of people buying them. Restaurant chains including Leon, Abokado, Cabana and Tortilla have also introduced similar taxes.
During the session, Oliver showed the committee a number of fizzy drinks bottles which had been altered to show the number of teaspoons of sugar each contained. He also used a can of energy drink, Red Bull to suggest the possibility of minimum age standards for young children purchasing drinks loaded with sugar and caffeine.
The government is currently readying the release of its upcoming ‘anti-obesity strategy’, however delays from Public Health England, who are compiling a report on the likely success of measures to cut down the nation’s sugar intake, have seen the strategy pushed back.
The delay in the PHE report has been described as an obstruction to the work of the health select committee by its chair Sarah Wollaston.
Oliver has published his own five point sugar manifesto, which calls for a ban on junk food advertising before 9pm, a compulsory labeling system which shows the number of teaspoons of sugar in a fizzy drink, compulsory traffic light labeling, and the voluntary responsibility deal to be made.