The lunchbox police

The BBC have a fine "nanny state" news piece today. Apparently:

"Parents have been urged not to put ham and other processed meat into their children's lunchboxes to avoid them developing a cancer risk later in life.

The World Cancer Research Fund said parents should act now to stop their children developing a taste for smoked, salted or cured meats.

Eating too much over decades can raise the risk of bowel cancer, they said.

...

Marni Craze, the charity's children's education manager, said: "It is better if children learn to view processed meat as an occasional treat if it is eaten at all."

She also wants to see a crackdown on high calorie snacks in school lunchboxes, as being overweight as an adult can also increase the risk of cancer later in life. "

Words fail me, which is not good for a blogger!

The piece continues:

"The Food Standards Agency, which advises the public on healthy eating, has published its own list of lunchbox menus - some of which feature ham.

An FSA spokesman said: "Processed meats, such as ham and salami, can form part of a balanced diet and parents shouldn't be concerned about including these in their children's lunchboxes now and again.

"However they can contain high levels of fat, particularly saturated fat, and salt, so we wouldn't recommend eating them too often. Parents should try to include a variety of sandwich fillings and only use processed meats occasionally." "

What has happened to this country? Maybe banning ham for health reasons is just a convenient cover.... maybe not.