How can McDonald’s chips be healthier than porridge? The government’s ‘confusing’ junk food classification explained…
McDonald’s fries are healthier than some porridge, according to the bizarre formula the government will use to determine whether a food must comply with advertising restrictions.
Ministers plan to introduce legislation that will curb advertising for ‘junk’ food and drink broadcast on television before 9pm and completely abolish online advertising in a bid to combat rising child obesity in Britain.
The nanny-state measure has already attracted criticism from experts who say the rules unfairly target healthy foods such as muesli, but exempt fat and salt-packed sausage rolls.
Yesterday, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting announced the 13 food and drink categories subject to a proposed advertising ban, as well as exemptions.
These foods and drinks will be subject to a formula developed more than a decade ago that aims to determine whether a food is ‘junk’ or not.
However, MailOnline can reveal that this comparison bizarrely classifies fast food fries as healthy.
It also places foods with markedly different nutritional profiles into the same unhealthy category. For example, English breakfast muffins are just as bad for you as pizza, according to the rules.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) claims the measures could prevent 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.
But with such confusing criteria, experts have warned that the guidelines could have the opposite effect and cause Britons to give up healthy eating completely.
“If people think they’re suddenly told muesli is unhealthy, they’ll give up and think, ‘Oh well, if it’s all bad for me, I might as well eat a Mars bar,'” said Dr. Max . Pemberton, psychiatrist and founder of the weight-loss company GetSlimmr.
How did the government make its calculations? And are we right to consider porridge and muesli to be bad for us? Here, MailOnline reveals everything.
Which 13 food and drink categories do the restrictions apply to, and which are exempt?
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that the following food and drink categories would be subject to possible restrictions from October next year.
These included soft drinks, savory snacks, breakfast cereals, chocolate and sweets, ice cream, cakes and cupcakes, biscuits and cereals and protein bars, so-called ‘morning products’, desserts and puddings, yoghurt, pizzas, potato products and ready meals.
The accompanying literature lists exactly which foods fall into these categories, and whether any exceptions apply.
Soft drinks include soft drinks, fruit juices, kefirs and energy drinks. However, milk and fruit or vegetable juice without added sugars are excluded.
Meanwhile, the ambiguously named ‘morning products’ include a host of pastries and baked goods such as croissants, pain au chocolat, crumpets, scones, fruit loaves and hot cross buns.
Savory snacks include chips, but dried fruit is excluded. While breakfast cereals include not only grains, but also products such as porridge and muesli as potentially risky health options.
The numerous exceptions have given rise to particular criticism from experts.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘Obesity is robbing our children of the best possible start in life, preparing them for a life of health problems and costing the NHS billions. This government is now taking action to put an end to the targeting of junk food advertisements at children, both on TV and online.
Although cakes are on the list, cake frosting is exempt. Although ice cream is on the list, ice cream sauces, which can be packed with sugar, are not.
One of the biggest exceptions is in category 13, a group that includes ready meals, burgers, fish and chips and sandwiches.
However, the government has indicated that savory pastry products, such as sausage rolls and quiches, as well as other foods such as ‘baked cheese products’ are exempt from the rules.
It should be noted that just because a product is in one of the thirteen category lists does not mean it is automatically restricted; the ‘nutritional profile’ still needs to be assessed.
How does the government determine whether a product is subject to restrictions?
Health chiefs said food and drink on the list will be assessed against a ‘nutrient profiling model’ developed more than a decade ago.
This is a formula that combines two scores, one assessing unhealthy traits and the other assessing healthy traits.
The unhealthy food and drink score assesses the number of calories, saturated fat content and total sugars and sodium per 100 g.
Strange things like McDonald’s fires are classified as healthy according to the government’s proposed calculation
This gives the item a total unhealthy score of a possible maximum of 40 points.
The food or drink is then scored on healthy properties such as its fiber content and how much protein, the building blocks of our muscles, it contains for a maximum of 15 points.
This healthy score is then subtracted from its unhealthy counterpart to obtain a final grade.
If this final rating is a three or lower, the item is considered healthy. A result of more than four, on the other hand, means junk food and would fall under the advertising ban.
But MailOnline can reveal this is leading to unexpected results.
For example, according to the calculations, McDonald’s falls under the ‘healthy’ category and is therefore not subject to the advertising restrictions.
The famous fries score 3 points for calories, 0 points for sugar, one for saturated fat and two for sodium, bringing the total unhealthy score to six.
But the fries gain back one point for protein and three for fiber, making the total healthy score four.
Experts say it is crucial that healthy foods, such as plain porridge and muesli, are not vilified by the fact that they are on the government’s potential ‘unhealthy’ list.
This results in a final score of two, which is healthy according to the system.
Meanwhile, frozen potato smileys score a healthy three, while fish fingers, thanks to the amount of protein, come in at two.
While the basic porridge is spared, the porridges containing added sugars, for example from syrup flavors, have disappeared.
Packets of Quaker’s Oat So Simple Golden Syrup score a whopping 6 points, while children’s cereal, Sainsbury’s Rice Pops, stand at a comfortable 0.
Additionally, if a food scores 11 unhealthy points, the healthy points are automatically removed.
This is intended to ensure that products such as burgers, packed with unhealthy fat and salt, do not look healthy due to their high amounts of protein.
What do nutritionists think?
Experts say it is crucial that healthy foods, such as plain porridge and muesli, are not vilified because they are on the government’s potential ‘unhealthy’ list.
Rob Hobson, a registered nutritionist, said the situation was ‘very confusing for consumers’.
“We must avoid a situation where healthy food is demonized,” he said.
He acknowledged that some formulations, such as golden syrup porridge sachets, may contain around half the recommended amount of 30 grams of sugar for adults.
But he said this should come down to “common sense.” “Plain porridge with milk is not junk food,” he said.
‘It’s a great source of fiber and when combined with milk it gives you protein. With a little fruit on top, it’s a healthy, balanced breakfast.’