WEIGHT & OBESITY
Denmark Taxes Fatty Products
The move may increase pressure for a similar tax in the UK, which suffers from the highest levels of obesity in Europe.
Starting from this Saturday, Danes will pay an extra 30p on each pack of butter, 8p on a pack of crisps, and an extra 13p on a pound of mince, as a result of the tax.
The tax is expected to raise about 2.2bn Danish Krone (£140m), and cut consumption of saturated fat by close to 10pc, and butter consumption by 15pc.
“It’s the first ever fat-tax,” said Mike Rayner, Director of Oxford University’s Health Promotion Research Group, who has long campaigned for taxes on unhealthy foods.
“It’s very interesting. We haven’t had any practical examples before. Now we will be able to see the effects for real.” The tax will be levied at 2.5 per Kg of saturated fat and will be levied at the point of sale from wholesalers to retailers.
Hungary at the start of this month imposed a tax is on all packaged foods containing unhealthy levels of sugar, salt, and carbohydrates, as well as products containing more than 20 milligrams of caffeine per 100 milliliters of the product.
Less than 10pc of Danes are clinically obese, putting them slightly below the European average.
Continue reading at Telegraph.co.uk
Tagged Denmark tax, fatty food tax, Fatty foods
George JamborSeptember 30, 2011 at 6:37 pm
People running things in Denmark are just plain IGNORANT. Fat does not make people fat !! Hungary has the correct idea, processed foods and mainly carbohydrates are what make fatso’s. Carbs provoke an insulin response in the body. Insulin is the fat storage hormone. Simple. The consumption of excess carbs is the reason for obesity, diabetes , heart disease and cancer. Specifically, an imbalance of quality Omega 6 and Omega 3 at the cellular level. GOOGLE BRIAN PESKIN and find out for yourself. George
Heidrun SchallerOctober 4, 2011 at 10:31 am
Thank you George!!! You’re absolutely right! Saturated fats absolutely indispensible for the growth of healthy tissue, especially brain tissue. Mince (ground beef) is actually a very healthy food, especially if it comes from grass-fed cattle. Butter is an extremely precious source of nutrients. It’s plain crazy to tax these good foods! I recommend reading the works by Dr. Mary Enig (author of “Know Your Fats”) and googling about the studies performed by Dr. Price, a dentist who studied the health and nutrition of primitive peoples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Price