Cheese is unhealthy... but chips aren't
8:59am Wednesday 3rd January 2007
Comments (10)A BAN on cheese advertising has been labelled "shocking" by a Wiltshire cheese maker.
The new regulations, being introduced this month by television regulator Ofcom, will ban broadcasters from advertising cheese during children's TV programmes or shows that attract a large number of child viewers.
They are part of a Government clampdown on junk food TV adverts which is aimed at reducing children's exposure to food high in fat, salt and sugar.
The ban comes in the wake of evidence that television commercials have an influence on what children eat and are contributing to obesity in the young.
But award-winning cheese maker Ceri Cryer, of Hill End Farm, Brinkworth, says labelling cheese as junk food is a step too far.
In fact she says that cheese should play an important part in a child's diet.
"Children need calcium and cheese is a very good source of calcium," Ceri said.
"Cheese can neutralise acid in your mouth preventing tooth decay and it can arrest tooth decay that is already present.
"I find it quite shocking that cheese has been labelled a junk food because it is a great basic staple food which should be part of our diet."
Ceri has won a string of business awards for her cheese business.
She sells her produce at farmers' markets from Wanborough to Wootton Bassett.
Her low salt, non-processed cheese is made from milk from the Brinkworth herd.
Ceri is the fifth generation of cheese makers from Hill End Farm. Among other celebrated products are her Brinkworth Blue cheese and the Malmesbury Mold.
Ofcom's decision to ban cheese advertising has also been slammed by the National Farmers' Union.
Anthony Gibson, national director of communications for the NFU, said: "To suggest there is anything inherently harmful about cheese is absurd.
"It is not going to do anything to encourage the sales of cheese."
The Food Standards Agency used a nutrient profiling model to distinguish junk food from healthy food.
And the model officially labelled cheese as more unhealthy than sugary cereals, full fat crisps and cheeseburgers.
The model assessed the fat, sugar and salt content in a 100g or 100ml serving of food or drink.
But the British Cheese Board said that the typical portion size of cheese was 30 to 40g - not the 100g used in the FSA model.
Most cheese would be exempt from the advertising ban if a typical sized portion was used in the model, said the board.
Mr Gibson added: "There is no such thing as a bad food. It is just how much of it you eat, in what balance and how much exercise you take."
He said the regulations were "dietary nonsense".
Other foods caught by the junk food ban include Marmite, Jaffa cakes, takeaway chicken nuggets, sausages, bacon rashers, pizza, hamburgers and chocolate.
Foods that are not considered too unhealthy and that can therefore be advertised include currant buns, frozen oven chips, chocolate flavoured milk and lasagne ready meals.
Your Say YourThis Is Wiltshire
C Sense, says...
10:34am Wed 3 Jan 07
Mike, says...
10:38am Wed 3 Jan 07
Jim, says...
1:38pm Wed 3 Jan 07
Hogs Wash, says...
1:41pm Wed 3 Jan 07
Has nobody got a life anymore.. There are starving people in the world (IE POVVERTY IN OUR COUNTRY) that would not mind eating the so say crap we do.
PARENTS DO YOU NOT HAVE BRAINS IN YTOUR OWN HEADS TO BRING YOUR CHILD HOW YOU SEE FIT. STOP BLAMING ADVERTISING AND START LOOKING AT YOURSELVES.
Very annoyed consumer
worried eater, says...
3:26pm Wed 3 Jan 07
Tom, says...
4:26pm Wed 3 Jan 07
mega, says...
7:26pm Wed 3 Jan 07
CK, says...
8:47pm Wed 3 Jan 07
Jim wrote:How can a valuable source of protein and calcium be classed as unhealthy? Yes, there is fat in cheese (and milk) but fat is needed to produce energy, especially in children. You are absolutely correct in what you say about large quantities. As part of a balanced diet, cheese is fine. I brought my children up to eat healthy, balanced meals with lots of veg included and even although they're grown up now, we still do all our own cooking and have a selection of different veg with our meals, i.e. brocolli, sprouts, carrots etc. I think the biggest part of the problem is that many people can't (or won't) cook. I learned to cook both from my mother and also at school. When my eldest daughter was at school, she did take cookery lessons one term. Thinking I was going to be able to sample the delights of her cooking, I was gobsmacked when she said their cookery lesson consisted of how to microwave a microwave meal!!! I taught her the basics of cooking myself.
Of course cheese is unhealthy, (try melting some in a pan and see what happens - almost 100% fat) - but only in large and frequent amounts - it is good for you as part of a controlled diet. It is like saying red wine is bad, but only in large quntities , a glass every now and again is known to be good for you. It is all about being sensible. The ban is ridiculous when you look at it in isolation - but if you dig deeper you can see the logic - it is all media hype
Cookery lessons in how to prepare a meal from scratch need to be brought back.
What people don't seem to realise either is that it is much cheaper to cook your own meals anyway. I'm in the fortunate position of also having a fairly large back garden so I grow a lot of my own veg too - pesticide and artificial fertilizer free. Can't beat home-grown veg for taste.
Hmm. Think we'll have Brocolli and Cauliflower Mornay for tea:)
ME, says...
2:03pm Fri 23 Feb 07
The problem is that less people cook real food than take away, pre-cooked meals, or just junk food.
I think we need to teach our childen the importance of a healthy balanced nutrition, home cooked. Its our duty to do so.
The way of living, advertisments, multinational companies, try to teach us different, try to teach us "the easy way" but the outcomes always prove the right way(even if then its too late).
Ceri Cryer is shocked that cheese has been labelled 'unhealthy'
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CK, says...
9:57am Wed 3 Jan 07
No doubt, the government has plans to tax food and what better food to tax than the ever popular cheese. Ironically cheese is used in most mediteranean food which the "experts" bang on about being a healthier diet than what we have.
There is far too much meddling in what we eat, particularly in "ready meals". In our family meals are home-cooked. Apart from not liking the chemicals that are in "ready meals" they are also very expensive.
The whole basis of branding cheese as a "junk food" is purely the start of another Nu Labour cynical plan to extort even more tax out of people.
Don't forget cheese is made from milk so if cheese ends up getting taxed as a "junk food", milk has then got to be labelled as a "junk food" along with it.
It is well known that cheese is an excellent source of protein and calcium, as is milk.
Does the government want a return of that nasty disease which was more or less eradicated by the early 1960's - Rickets?