Salad bosses have reacted angrily to news that the government is allowing the meat sector to use the 5 A DAY logo on its promotional material while more than 60 per cent of the industry agree the move could spell bad news.
Mark Newton, managing director of leading bagged salad brand Florette, said the decision would simply add to the confusion surrounding the scheme.
The Department of Health has given the go-ahead to the Meat & Livestock Commission to use the logo on promotional activities with the British Pig Executive.
The move is the first time the logo has been allowed to be used on a publication where fruit and vegetables are not the main ingredients. However Newton, pictured, said his company was initially barred from carrying the brand due to the fact that some of its salad products included a dressing.
“What it seems to be saying is that a meal with pork containing x grams of fat is part of your 5 A DAY, whereas a bagged salad with an olive oil dressing is not, and I think that could cause confusion,” he claimed.
His views were backed by the freshinfo poll, which revealed that 63 per cent of the industry thought the DoH decision was bad for the scheme and likely to cause further confusion, compared with just 26 per cent who supported the move.
Nigel Jenney, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium, said: “Looking at the guidelines for licensing, it says that a menu or recipe must achieve the current nutritional criteria, which means no added fat, sugars or salt.”
However, while the use of the logo by BPex remains unclear, if recipes were to include bacon, that could breach the criteria.
Jenney said the increased exposure for the logo could be a good thing, but agreed that there needed to be clarification on the issue.
“From the overall position of encouraging consumers to eat more produce through another vehicle, it’s a good thing, but we need to be careful that we’re not giving out mixed signals,” he said.
The DoH failed to comment when approached by FPJ
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