Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
897. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health given the prevalence of so-called ultra processed foods in Irish supermarkets, her plans to treat the matter as a public health issue; her powers to address the matter; her plans to ensure widespread access to whole food; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [71363/25]
View answerThe current Obesity Policy and Action Plan (OPAP) was launched in September 2016 under the auspices of the Healthy Ireland Framework (Healthy Ireland: A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025).
OPAP covers a 10-year period up to 2025 and the overall aim is to reverse obesity trends, prevent health complications, and reduce the impact of overweight and obesity on health outcomes for individuals, families, the health system, and the wider society and economy. It recognises that obesity is a complex, multi-faceted problem and needs a multi-pronged solution, with every sector of society playing its part. OPAP is well aligned with the World Health Organisation in terms of the breadth of policy measures that have been introduced or are being considered in order to address the obesity epidemic.
Under OPAP, Ireland put in place a comprehensive, cross-Government strategy to address obesity and overweight. Since 2016 significant progress has been made in delivering on the Ten Step Programme of OPAP and to drive policy initiatives and actions, ranging from health promotion and education initiatives and obesity prevention measures through to establishing services to treat and manage obesity within the health care system.
Under OPAP, funding has been provided for numerous initiatives and programmes aimed at implementing the actions set out in OPAP, which include actions aimed at tackling the prevalence of high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods, which are a type of ultra processed food.
In 2016, the Department of Health indicated its intention to introduce a food reformulation strategy for Ireland. The strategy was published in 2021 and is outlined in A Roadmap for Food Product Reformulation in Ireland. To implement the Roadmap, The Food Reformulation Task Force, a strategic partnership between the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and Healthy Ireland, was established in 2022, with funding provided by the Department on an annual basis in order to carry out implementation of the roadmap. Funding was extended to 2027 for the FSAI to continue working with the Food industry to reduce nutrients of concern, such as fat, salt and sugar in commonly consumed food in Ireland.
In 2021, Sláintecare Healthy Ireland in the Department of Health, working with the HSE and local authorities and community agencies, launched the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme to provide increased health and wellbeing services in 24 community areas across Ireland. This Programme employs a Community Food & Nutrition worker in each of the communities that have been identified as disadvantaged, who work to improve community health and wellbeing in the community areas by addressing the issues of poor diet and food poverty.
In 2024, the Safefood ‘Building a Healthier Environment’ public health campaign was launched by the then Minister of State for Public Health, Well Being and the National Drugs Strategy Colm Burke. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the unhealthy food environment, how this is harmful to children’s health and why it needs to change, particularly by highlighting the current prevalence and accessibility of unhealthy foods within the food environment and highlighting how much unhealthy foods in supermarkets are placed at children’s eye level. To this end, the Department of Health has engaged regularly with Coimisiún na Meán regarding the issue of restricting the advertisement of HFSS foods to children and will continue to engage with An Coimisiún on an ongoing basis as work in this area continues.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) as Ireland’s independent regulator is the central competent authority for the enforcement of food safety legislation. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides independent scientific advice to support European policies and legislation related to food. Advice from EFSA and FSAI informs European laws, rules and policymaking, which helps protect consumers from risks in the food chain. Regulation EC 178/2002 (General Food Law) provides the legal framework for ensuring food safety and consumer protection within the European Union (EU).
In the EU, food additives are identified by an E number, and their safety is evaluated before they can be permitted for use in food. Food additives are substances which are intentionally added to food to perform a technological function during manufacturing, processing, or storage. Only approved food additives, which are included in Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives, can be used in foods on the EU market. EFSA evaluates the safety of regulated products like food additives before they can be authorised for the EU market. Scientific assessments are carried out to ensure that additives are safe for human consumption before and after authorisation. This involves evaluating both new additives and re-evaluating existing ones. Based on these evaluations, EFSA makes recommendations to the European Commission.
Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, sets out the general principles and obligations regarding the provision of food information, including the declaration of ingredients. This Regulation requires that food additives are identified by the name of the category they belong to, followed by their specific name or E number in the list of ingredients.
As there is no legal definition of Ultra Processed Food (UPF) the WHO are in the process of convening an expert advisory group to develop a guideline to assist member states to promote healthier, safer and more sustainable diets as a priority through a variety of actions.
The current OPAP runs through to the end of 2025, and a successor Obesity Policy and Action Plan will be drafted by the Department in 2026. 2026. As part of this process of preparing the next OPAP, the department will consider the learning from the existing OPAP, examine the data from the extensive consultation process conducted over the last nine months and reflect on all emerging evidence to inform how the new Obesity Policy and Action plan will be designed.
