Legal & General have joined forces with The British Heart Foundation to launch Think Fit!, a programme to create a healthier workforce and improve economic performance. The Think Fit! programme is aimed at employers from all types of organisations who are interested in the health of their staff. The programme offers advice and information to encourage employees to get fit and take more exercise.
In a separate development, Nestlé’s factory in Tutbury is the first of company’s UK factories to run a health awareness week for employees. Organised in conjunction with the factory’s new catering company, Avenance, the aim of the week is to encourage employees to achieve a balanced lifestyle through good diet and exercise.
Meanwhile, a study by the International Labour Organization has shown that poor workplace nutrition is costing countries up to 20% in lost productivity. The study, the first ever to examine global workplace eating habits, indicates that better nutrition in the workplace can improve national productivity rates. It also finds that workplace meal programmes can prevent chronic diseases and obesity, and pay their way by reducing the number of sick days and accidents. Contact Jo Power, British Heart Foundation 020 7487 9407 http://www.bhf.org.uk; Berni Ryan, Legal & General 01737 375 369 http://www.landg.com; Nestlé UK 0800 6378 5385 http://www.nestle.co.uk; ILO 01227 997 912 http://www.ilo.org
Get sporty
Tesco has launched a high-profile campaign to inspire young people to play sport. The retailer has teamed up with thousands of sports clubs and 30,000 schools in a voucher scheme to receive sports equipment and coaching sessions. The campaign is endorsed by 3 top sports stars – footballer Frank Lampard, rugby player Jason Robinson and Olympic runner Paula Radcliffe – who all appear on a DVD that will be distributed free to clubs and schools. Children will also have a chance to win a training session with the stars. Contact Jenny Sacre, Tesco 01992 644 645 http://www.tesco.com
Healthy, wealthy and wise
Preventing work related illness and accidents is the main aim of a new government strategy to improve the well-being of the UK workforce. The strategy, a joint initiative between the department for work and pensions, the department of health and the health and safety commission, places an emphasis on maintaining healthy working environments and providing access to fast treatment and occupational health for employees that need it. Led by the National Director of Occupational Health, the strategy’s main themes are engaging stakeholders; improving working lives and healthcare for working age people. Contact Sam Harris, DWP 020 7238 0756 http://www.dwp.gov.uk
Safety first
The International Labour Organization has developed a new five-point Global Strategy to encourage the use of ILO labour standards on safety and health at work, in response to research indicating that 2.2 million people die every year from work related incidents. The strategy will involve the strengthening and enforcement of national occupational safety systems; compliance and labour inspection capacity; information exchange; and research and support services. Contact ILO 022 799 6111 http://www.ilo.org
Salt shake-up
Heinz, Tesco and Sainsbury are among the food manufacturers and retailers supporting the second phase of a Food Standards Agency public health campaign to reduce salt consumption. The second phase focuses on encouraging consumers to check food labels to help them ensure they eat no more than 6g of salt a day. Heinz has printed the message Check out my salt level! on tins of its key brands, while Tesco is showing an FSA advert on its instore television broadcasts throughout the campaign. Only a third of British adults are aware that they should not eat more than 6g a day; and only a third use labels to assess salt content in the foods they purchase. Currently three-quarters of most people’s daily salt intake is derived from processed foods.
Meanwhile a Food and Drink Confederation survey of 20 food and drink manufacturers finds that by the end of 2005, a third (36%) of processed foods will contain less salt. Heinz says it now uses a fifth (19%) less salt in manufacturing than a year ago, with its baked beans containing 14% less; Kellogg’s now uses a quarter less salt in its Corn Flakes; and Pepsico has cut salt levels in Oat Crunchies by a third (33%) and reduced sugar levels in Sugar Puffs by a quarter (25%). ASDA also recently announced plans to remove all salt from its entire range of own-brand tinned vegetables by July 2006. Contact Stephen Knight, FSA 020 7276 8099 http://www.food.gov.uk
Breakfast boost
Over a fifth of children go to school on an empty stomach, according to research published to mark Kellogg’sNational Breakfast Week, from 5-11 September. The campaign, fronted by model Melinda Messenger, encourages mothers to sit down to breakfast with their children every morning. Over a half (57%) of adults currently miss breakfast. Kellogg’s claim that “parents are unaware that if a 12 year old skips breakfast he will have the reaction time of a 70 year old in the classroom”. Contact Sam Fulton, Kellogg’s 0161 869 2819 http://www.kelloggs.co.uk
Junk food scrap
Junk food is to be banned from school canteens, as part of the government’s push for healthy menus. Foods deemed unhealthy – such as chips, burgers and reconstituted meat – will have to be removed by September 2006. Speaking at the Labour Party Conference in September, education secretary Ruth Kelly said that vending machines will have to scrap sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks. Contact Dfes 0870 000 2288 http://www.dfes.gov.uk
The chips are down
PepsiCo-owned Frito-Lay and Procter & Gamble’s Pringles are among the products named in a lawsuit that has been filed in California, which seeks to stop manufacturers and restaurants from selling potato crisps or chips without a warning to consumers that they contain acrylamide, a potential cancer causing chemical. Contact PepsiCo http://www.pepsico.com
Life-saving labelling
The Food Standards Agency is introducing new guidelines to help food producers and retailers assess the risks of allergens. A consultation on the proposed guidelines, which focus particularly on avoiding cross-contamination and using appropriate labeling, will run until December. In November, an EU directive comes into force requiring food labels to highlight allergen ingredients and their derivatives for a range of products including some cereals, fish, eggs, nuts, milk, celery and mustard. Contact Stephen Knight, FSA 020 7276 8099 http://www.food.gov.uk
Krafty plans
Kraft will no longer market products that do not meet its Sensible Solution nutrition standards on websites aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 11 after 2006. Kraft’s existing policy already extends this ban to the media of radio, television and print.. Meanwhile, from 2006, Kraft employee benefits will include access to advice on diet and fitness from healthcare professionals as part of new programme, Health Coach. Contact Kris Charles, Kraft 00 1 847 646 6251 http://www.kraft.com
Smoking gun
The partial smoking ban in England may result in a flood of lawsuits levelled against the owners of pubs and clubs, anti-smoking campaigners warned after the government presented the Health Bill to parliament in late October. The ban that has been proposed as part of the bill prohibits smoking in all workplaces, except in private members clubs and non-food pubs. It caused controversy when it was published, with the health lobby and many backbench Labour MPs saying the government had not gone far enough.
The British Hospitality Association criticised the plan as a “chaotic muddle” that raised more questions than it answered. BHA chief executive Bob Cotton said: “A total ban would have been perfectly consistent with medical opinion; there would have been infinitely less confusion; and the industry throughout the UK would have been on an equal footing”. Ian Willmore, of anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health, said the proposed ban would give employees the impetus to go to court. “The ban is being introduced because passive smoking causes harm. Employers can no longer say they were not aware of the risks. There will be a lot of cases”.
Introducing the bill, Health Secretary Patrica Hewitt said: “This package is a huge step forward for public health and will help reduce deaths from cancer, heart disease and other smoking related diseases. Not only will we be able to protect non-smokers and the large majority of pub workers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, but we will also provide smokers with an environment where it easier to give up”. Contact Department of Health 020 7210 4850 http://www.dh.gov.uk
Breath of fresh air
Whitbread-owned Costa Coffee has introduced a blanket no-smoking policy across all its UK shops, to protect the health of the company’s employees and customers. But the motivation is also commercial. According to Managing Director Mark Phillips, food sales have typically increased when stores are converted to non-smoking venues, while research indicates that four-fifths of Costa’s customers would prefer a non-smoking environment. Meanwhile, GNER has introduced a ban on smoking on its trains, following an announcement made in June. The decision was made on the basis of research, which showed that over 90% of its passengers did not smoke. Contact Dionne Parker, Costa Coffee 01582 844 346 http://www.costa.co.uk
Out of the ashes
Canada’s supreme court has upheld a disputed British Columbia Law that allows the Canadian province to try to recover smoking-related health costs from several tobacco firms going back to the 1950s. BAT’s subsidiary Imperial Tobacco Canada and Altria are among the companies being targeted for cash. Contact Imperial Tobacco Canada 00 1 514 932 6161 http://www.imperialtobaccocanada.com
Editorial Comment
The question of who has responsibility for health remains as contested today as it was 200 years ago when the Industrial Revolution was gathering pace and the very earliest factory legislation sought to protect children working in the mills. But there really ought to be no room for argument: surely the very first duty of any employer, even before questions of fair pay or equal treatment arise, is to ensure all your people get off your premises alive and with as many limbs attached as when they came in that morning.
Yet even here there are ambiguities. In September BP paid a $21m fine for the fatal explosion at its Texas City refinery in which 15 workers lost their lives. But none of those people was actually an employee. Look at the 2004 social reports of BP, Shell and ExxonMobil and you’ll find just six employees lost their lives that year – six too many, but not a bad record given what those companies do and the fact they employ more than 300,000 people. Now compare that with the 48 contractors who died on their premises – eight times more with far fewer people involved – and you have to conclude this is a case of different standards, if not actually double standards.
Move from employees to consumers and the picture becomes still more complex. If even the UK Cabinet is totally split on the smoking issue, individual companies might be tempted to roll out the old mantra that individuals must be responsible for their own health. Of course that is true in so far as it goes, but it doesn’t absolve a food manufacturer or a service provider like a pub from its responsibilities – if for no better reason (being practically cynical now) than companies are a more juicy target for attack by the tabloids than the behaviour of their own readers.
In looking at this subject from Western Europe, beware of perceptions based on state-funded healthcare systems. In most parts of the world, health is a very real direct cost to individuals and companies. Add to that greater legal liability for products in America and you have a potent business as well as responsibility case for action. Address it at three levels: direct (employees and consumers of your products), indirect (contractors and consumers on your premises) and through wider engagement (such as community partnerships).
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