Proposition 52K1205

Proposition de résolution relative à l'organisation d'une table ronde en vue de réduire l'utilisation de sel, de sucres et de graisses dans les aliments préparés.

General information ¶

Authors

CD&V Luc Goutry
Ecolo Thérèse Snoy et d'Oppuers
Groen Tinne Van der Straeten
LE Marie-Martine Schyns
MR Jean-Jacques Flahaux
Open Vld Yolande Avontroodt, Ludo Van Campenhout, Katia della Faille de Leverghem
PS | SP Yvan Mayeur
Vooruit Maya Detiège

Submission date

May 30, 2008

Official page

Visit

Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

health risk resolution of parliament fats sugar foodstuff nutritional disease public health disease prevention salt

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

Groen CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld N-VA MR FN VB

Party dissidents ¶

• Hans Bonte (Vooruit) abstained from voting.
• Daniel Ducarme (MR) abstained from voting.
• David Geerts (Vooruit) abstained from voting.
• Luk Van Biesen (Open Vld) abstained from voting.

Contact form ¶

Do you have a question or request regarding this proposition? Select the most appropriate option for your request and I will get back to you shortly.

Discussion ¶

July 10, 2008 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

by Mr. Jacques Otlet, rapporteur, refers to his written report.

Dear colleagues, we all know this. Healthy nutrition, adequate exercise and a good psychological balance are crucial for our health. However, the balance between these three pillars is increasingly disturbed. The fight against the welfare diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases – yet the leading cause of death in this country – obesity, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, will undoubtedly become the challenge of the coming decades.

There is rightly a lot of money spent on treating those welfare diseases, but prevention is ⁇ not an unnecessary luxury. As everyone knows, the increase in health insurance spending is already 21 billion. Consider the annual increase of 4.5 percent plus inflation, which means another 2 billion extra, and we are already at 23 billion. I do not have to draw you on this, but with the de-greening and the ageing, social security will become absolutely unpaid in the long run, especially since the welfare diseases thanks to our well-functioning health care system increasingly evolve into chronic diseases.

The European Union will sponsor or support free fruit in schools, simply because in the European Union there are 22 million children suffering from overweight, of which 5 million in severe degree. The story is not over yet, as half a million children join each year.

Let me give you a summary of the situation in Belgium. In 2004, 44 percent of Belgians were overweight, of which 12 percent were obese. In its 2006 report on the prevention of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases, the European Parliament noted that changing the composition of products can be a powerful tool to reduce the consumption of fats, sugars and salt.

The European Parliament also called on Member States, manufacturers, retail chains and catering companies to increase efforts to ensure that the content of fats, sugar and salt in foods is drastically reduced. Also Minister Onkelinx and former Minister Demotte, in their federal nutrition plan, have called for a commitment from the private sector actors, more specifically an action around the composition and choice of foods.

In summary, dear colleagues, the problem is that the lion’s share of the prosperity offenders is inhibited in the prepared food. This is why in this resolution we call for a round table with all the stakeholders involved. Those are the food industry, the patients, the associations for obesity, the hospitals, the universities and the dieticians, to find out how we can precisely reduce the content of salt, sugar and fats in prepared foods. In this resolution, we also call for reduced use of saturated fats and increased use of unsaturated fats.

To prove to you, dear President and dear colleagues, that through our consumption of prepared foods we already consume the bulk of the permitted amount of salt, sugar and fats, and often, unfortunately, seriously exceed, I will give you some figures for illustration. I will keep it short and concise. Our average daily salt intake is 10 to 12 grams of salt. Ideally, this should be reduced to 4 grams. Regarding sugar intake, I don’t know if everyone is aware that we consume 40 kilograms of sugar annually, of which 85% is swallowed in our prepared foods. To conclude, as far as fats are concerned, up to 30% of the total amount of energy we consume should be supplied by fats. Recently, there has been an extensive report in the press that kindergartens need certain fats. In Belgium, instead of 30% we are at 43%, so a little too much. Maximum we should also use between 7% and 10% saturated fats.

In Belgium, this is double. Colleagues, this is also a reflection.

I understand that the subject makes certain people smile. After all, it is a new topic.

Of course, I realize that only a new composition of the prepared diet will not solve the problem of welfare diseases by itself. I realize – probably everyone here in Parliament realizes that – that this requires a coordinated approach from both the Communities and the Regions and from the federal government. We must all work together to make people aware of the importance of a healthy diet and healthy exercise as weapons against diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and certain cancers.

The redefinition of prepared foods can be an important tool and a significant contribution toward a healthier diet and to reduce the intake of salt, sugars and fats.

From the ongoing springs out my urgent request to organize a round table.

Members of the Committee on Public Health, I would like to thank you for unanimously approving the present resolution. It was a very nice experience for me. I would like to thank you very especially for this.

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, I thank you for your attention.

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, I thank those who have not yet gone to eat and who listen to this discussion on the essential question that is our daily food. The Ecolo-Groen group! supports this resolution, which constitutes a step forward in the action on the factors of our lifestyle that heavily determine the state of our health. In fact, at all levels, the Ecolo-Groen group! supports prevention policies that contribute to quality of life but also to reduce health spending for households and public authorities.

Here, fifteen days ago, I asked you to try to maintain a resolution we had filed on cancer prevention. In fact, we had asked the Minister of Health to supplement his plan against cancer with prevention policies covering, among other things, food quality, which is within his competence. Unfortunately, our resolution has not been followed and I regret this situation, although today we can take a step forward thanks to the resolution proposal submitted by Mme della Faille.

Indeed, the links between food and cancer are complex but they have been confirmed. On the occasion of the 10th Congress of Nutrition and Health that took place in Brussels last November, a scientific report was released from which it appears in particular that 30 to 40% of cancer deaths could be prevented by healthy eating habits and regular physical activity. The work of Pr. David Servan-Schreiber demonstrated that the main difference between populations with high or low rates of cancer is diet. He hypothesizes that the Western plate is ⁇ composed of substances likely to have an inflammatory character promoting the genesis and resurgence of tumors.

It also gives numerous scientific references that many components of our diet possess this inflammatory and tumor promoter character and it blames in particular the sugar and hydrogenated fats present in industrially manufactured foods, as well as animal fats where the balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is disturbed for the benefit of the latter due to a change in the diet of animals.

Grass-fed animals have a meat that has a better balance between these Omega-3 and Omega-6. In fact, omega-3s are more important, hence less toxicity.

The figures given by Ms. della Faille on our consumption are edifying. I will simply cite a recent CRIOC survey revealing that five out of six households consume prepared dishes. Sure, the entire population tends to consume these prepared dishes, but it is the least nantes who are most exposed to low-quality food. This is why it is essential to strengthen regulation on the addition of sugar in foods, on the introduction of trans fats, on the balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6, in order to avoid dangerous consumption for our health.

With this resolution being unanimous, we hope that the government will work as soon as possible to concrete the three points of this resolution and not only the one concerning the establishment of a round table. We must move as quickly as possible to the realization of the first two points that are to adapt the regulation. Ecolo wants structural measures. Currently, there is already the National Health Nutrition Plan, which aims only to raise public awareness of a more balanced diet, but which is struggling to get heard in relation to advertising matracking to change our habits.

It is high time in Belgium to pursue a real food quality policy, which goes beyond the requirement of food security that we already fulfill well. We must have a health prevention concern and a concern for the social and environmental impact of food production and above all to make quality accessible to all.