A snack tax on sugary and salty food will be recommended by Boris Johnson’s food tsar.
According to sources, restaurateur Henry Dimbleby will put forward the proposals as part of a National Food Strategy aimed at improving the nation’s well-being.
The Government commissioned review is expected to include plans to expand the current sugar tax on sweet drinks and bring in a new salt tax on high sodium foods.
Henry Dimbleby is also expected to recommend an expansion of free school meals and is likely to criticise the UK’s recent trade deal with Australia, putting him on a collision course with ministers.
However, the plan doesn’t include plans for a tax on red meat, which the Prime Minister has ruled out.
Henry Dimbleby, the millionaire founder of fast-food chain Leon, will make his recommendations in an independent report.
Ministers plan to respond in a White Paper in six months but sources warned that none of the recommendations were set in stone.
The snack tax is designed to encourage manufacturers to cut the amount of sugar and salt in their products and could apply to foods such as sausages, bacon, burgers and crisps.
Fizzy drinks have been subject to a sugar tax of 18p per litre since 2018, but Henry Dimbleby is expected to call for this to go further.
The review is expected to suggest a drop in the amount of red meat consumed as part of a healthy diet but won’t recommend a tax on it.
Mr Dimbleby was reported to have warned that people may have to pay a meat tax to help save the planet, even though it could cause riots, and he was said to have argued that a levy on burgers, steaks, ham and sausages may be necessary in the long term, but he ruled against an immediate introduction because of the uproar it would create in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Boris Johnson has unveiled proposals to cut greenhouse emissions by almost four-fifths in a decade, which would require cutting meat and dairy consumption by a fifth.
The average meat consumption stands at 70g a day, according to the NHS, so reducing this by a fifth would equal 56g, comparable to the weight of a chicken breast. Mr Dimbleby is also likely to renew his call for an expansion of free school meals to all under 16s with parents on universal credit.
But what will it be next, the air that we breathe? Perhaps we shouldn’t give them ideas, although I’m certain they’ve thought of that already.
The truth is that the government just want to make more money, and they will make any reason up to justify it, and let’s face it, most treats have been ruined anyhow with artificial sweeteners, cheaper ingredients and smaller sizes.
The extra tax on things is not needed because food manufacturers only have to do simple adjustments to the ingredients of foods, reduce the amount of salt per gram of food and take it below the recommended legal limit and then there would be no need for a sweet and salt tax, but of course, that won’t be done because it’s all about making money and lots of it.
The government doesn’t give a damn about your well-being, all they care about is lining their own pockets, and of course, Boris Johnson won’t put a tax on red meat, that’s because he sits in lavish establishments consuming it. I mean, let’s face it, he could do with losing a few pounds, sorry I meant stone!
