The Government’s proposed nannying ad ban is said to be about to crash down on ‘junk food’, banning so-called junk food advertising on TV and online prior 9pm. Other than the obvious hypocrisy, the trouble with this approach is that term that has popular appeal but no legal definition. A similar ‘junk food’ ad ban under Sadiq Khan resulted in mince pie adverts being banned on the London Underground and from the sides of buses…

Government instead takes ‘junk food’ to mean all food that is ‘high in fat, sugar, and salt’ (HFSS food as defined by the Food Standards Agency’s Nutrient Profiling Model). This includes…

• Raisins and sultanas
• Most tinned fruit
• Most yoghurts
• Nearly all cheese (including half-fat cheese)
• Cream crackers
• Tomato soup
• Hummus
• Ham and salami
• Pesto
• Cereal bars
• Pure orange juice
• Olive bread
• Pasta sauces
• Butter and margarine
• More than half of all meat
• One in every four sandwiches

When a middle England mother hears “junk food ad ban” and nods approvingly it’s unlikely she’ll be thinking about pesto, olive bread, and hummus…