Porridge has been branded “junk food” under the government’s latest “nanny state crackdown” and MPs have blasted “preposterous meddling” in people’s day-to-day lives if reports in The Sun are to be believed.
But that doesn’t quite tell the full story.
The breakfast staple became the latest culture war issue to divide the country after the media suggested that the oats-baed breakfast will be included in an advertising ban under Labour plans.
The move, aimed at tackling childhood obesity, places porridge pots alongside crisps and fizzy drinks under restrictions for products deemed “less healthy.”
And for good reason.
While plain oats will not be included in the ban, sweetened options form part of what is being described as a “hidden junk food” epidemic, where conventionally healthy meals have additives, sugar and salt added to them to make them cook quicker or appeal to more people.
The clampdown on sweetened options has caused outrage in the media, with The Times asking whether “anything is still safe to eat” and The Sun blasting “nanny state” governance.
But as David Banks points out here, it’s really not that controversial at all:
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