Mr. BarstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's strategy is for reducing(a) salt levels in food and (b) the prevalence of people having excess salt in their diet. [153116]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mrs. Robinson) on Tuesday 27 January 2004,Official Report, column 332W.
On Tuesday 3 February 2004, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a period of consultation on a public health white paper. This will provide the overarching framework for work that the Department of Health and other Government Departments are already engaged in. The consultation aims to engage the public, the media, industry, voluntary groups and health professionals in a wide-ranging debate about how the nation can best tackle issues like obesity, smoking and sexually transmitted infections.