Nanny state.

[Clint]

Tasty....salt,sugar,fat,sour....I spoke to someone a while back and they said they liked to take their kids to MC...burgers ..as they could "tell it was quality food"...eh? Just by "looking at it".
FFS!

 

[phildo79]

"I want the basket of food parents buy not to cost any more," she said"

This literally makes no sense. I have no idea what the gripe is. And that's assuming there is a gripe. But there seems like there is, given the generic downbeat vibe of the lexical content.

 

[GerritT]

Yes, the DiNicolantonio study, was the one I was referring too. The article you linked refutes this of course. Even if sugar isn't as addictive as cocaine, from personal experience I would suggest sugar is strongly habit forming and addictive to a degree. Scientists can argue about just how addictive it is, but I think it's addictive nonetheless . So I think my broader point still stands, sugar still presses the reward buttons in the brain, and food manufacturers know this, so load all kinds of food with sugar so people will repeatedly buy their products - to the detriment of their health

So just regulate the amount of sugar and salt to the amount they would've had without purposely adding more, and food would be fair again.

 

[Cwrw666]

Sugar might well be addictive, but it's nowhere near as addictive as a meat pie. Talking from experience here...

 

[Clint]

I heartily agree ...sense at last!!

 

[marshbrewer]

Or cheese. Mmm mmm.... Cheese....

 

[MyQul]

So just regulate the amount of sugar and salt to the amount they would've had without purposely adding more, and food would be fair again.

The problem being that a lot of food is processed and processed food can be very bland so manufacturers load it with sugar and salt to try and make it taste of something

 

[Richie_asg1]

Should they just install turnstiles at the entrance to Greggs? Say £1 to get in?

 

[Richie_asg1]

"They could always impose a government tax on cooked food and cakes - say 20% and keep fruit and vegetables at 0% and thereby encourage more people to buy the 0% rated more healthy goods."

BTW - they already do that- It's called VAT.

 

[Clint]

Don't pay VAT on food...I think...but "taxing" certain foods is the start of it..

 

[marshbrewer]

I think hot takeaway food is subject to VAT.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Blowing hot and cold

Ok so let’s look at our variables. First we have the food itself, is it zero or standard rated? Then we have the temperature, is it hot or cold? Then we have the environment, is it eat in or take away?

So if you’re a food store owner e.g. a green grocer then you only have to worry about the first variable but the next two come hand in hand.

Like we said, if the food is take away you do not have to charge VAT unless the food you are serving attracts VAT anyway, e.g. is standard rated, or if it is hot. So we have to look at two variables is it zero or standard rated or is it cold or hot.

If you are running a take away business and you would like to serve hot food or if you are a restaurant and you would like to serve cold food you will have to charge VAT. If you are a take away business and you want to serve cold food you do not need to charge VAT (unless the product attracts VAT in itself) but if you are a restaurant you must charge VAT on cold food.

In a nutshell restaurants must always charge VAT on everything except food that is cold and taken away, takeaway vendors do not need to charge VAT unless the food is hot and/or the customer would like to eat in perhaps a designated sitting area.

https://www.accountsandlegal.co.uk/tax-advice/vat-in-the-food-industry

 

[marshbrewer]

Simples!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I never knew it was so complecated

 

[simon12]

It's much more complicated as most foods do have vat on them regardless. The peanuts and crisps I buy from the cash and carry do have vat on them while pork scratchings don't, all biscuits have vat on but cakes don't. There is often not much logic as to why

 

[marshbrewer]

Want there a court case about weather a Jaffa Cake is a biscuit or a cake in so far of its VAT status?

 

[Cwrw666]

Food is zero rated for VAT but `luxury foods' have 20% VAT. For some bizarre reason they decided cakes were a basic foodstuff but biscuits were a luxury. The court case was weather Jaffa cakes were a biscuit or a cake and the judgement was that they were indeed a cake (though they look like biscuits) and so 0% VAT. The judges decided that the difference was that cakes go stale by drying out whereas biscuits go stale by going soggy.

I don't know why I know all this - I need to get out more...

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't know why I know all this - I need to get out more...

 

[Clint]

Stick to the meat pies Cwrw...much better for the health.

 

[Richie_asg1]

As long as they are cold meat pies - they should be VAT free.

I was just hinting that there is already a system in place to make unhealthy choices more expensive. Maybe it just needs tweaking a bit.

I'm off to Greggs and going to ask them for the 20% off as my pie is cold.