In this neck of the woods there are dozens of outlets selling deep fried chicken and chips for about £2. It’s a quick easy lunch or dinner and regular consumption of it is an express ticket to an early grave. Who tends to eat cheap, deep fried, high calorie fast food? The key demographic probably is not Daily Telegraph readers.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) claims that banning trans fats might prevent approximately 30,000 cardiovascular disease deaths annually. That’s the population of a fair sized town.
Trans fats are the substances with no nutritional value which food manufacturers put in their products to extend their shelf life. They serve no other purpose.
Could anyone possibly be against banning a product which is actively harmful and has been outlawed in some states? Step forward Julian Hunt, Director of Communications, Food and Drink Federation. It’s his job to explain that while these things are really bad for you the sellers are acting perfectly responsibly. Every organisation needs its Mark Regev and Hunt spins it this way:
"Industry reformulation efforts have already resulted in the levels of trans-fats in foods dropping to well below the suggested maximum daily intake recommended by the World Health Organization."
Unsurprisingly the Department of Health spokesperson tried to assert that it’s a personal responsibility and has nothing to do with company profits: "The best way to prevent cardiovascular disease is for people to eat better and be more active.” Pensioners and the less well off can build the walk for cheap fried chicken and chips into their daily workout programme seems to be the suggestion.
However there is a class and income bias in this. The biggest consumers of fast food and the cheap long life products in which trans fats are used are going to be working class families on tight budgets and the less well off. National averages are not informative in developing the full picture. In Chelsea consumption of these toxins is probably well below what it is in Glasgow’s Easterhouse.
Nice’s recommendations are a direct challenge both to the big food companies and retailers as well as the Tory cuts agenda. They call for low-salt and low-fat foods to be sold more cheaply than their unhealthy counterparts, through the use of subsidies if necessary; planning restrictions on fast food outlets and what amounts to investment in walking and cycling routes and disclosure of food industry lobbying.
When your name is Prof Sir Ian Gilmore and you’re the president of the Royal College of Physicians it’s a safe bet that you’ve not risen to these positions by routinely making militant anti-capitalist speeches. He said "The profits of private firms ought not to take precedence when compared with the health of the more than four million people at risk in this country." That hits the nail on the head and goes some way to explaining why this government, like its predecessor, will not take the necessary action.
Here’s a song with “trans” in the title.
Liam redux 
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