A UK Government Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales, David TC Davies MP, has criticised the Welsh Government's plan to introduce a new law on meal deals. On Tuesday, the Welsh Government announced their plan for a new legislation to ban certain foods from meal deals in a bid to tackle obesity.
The new legislation is set to be introduced in the Senedd next year and is expected to become law in 2025. But David TC Davies MP has called the decision "wrong" and believes it "should be reversed". In a video shared on Twitter on Wednesday, the Conservative politician shared his thoughts on the Welsh Government's plan accompanied with a meal deal consisting of a protein shake, pasta and a bag of crisps.
In the clip, he said: "I'm in the Wales Office in London today, and I'm just about to tuck into my meal deal. This one cost £3.40 from a well-known supermarket. With a card, most meal deals come between £3.40 and £4.
Read more: Wales is to ban some food items from meal deals and tell supermarkets where they can display treats
"I got myself a nice protein shake as I've been in the gym today, healthy tuna and pasta, and we won't talk about those. But if I were to buy these separately it would've come almost double the price. In Wales, the Welsh Labour Government are going to outlaw meal deals like this.
"Meal deals as we know them are going to come to an end. And we'll all end up paying a bit more money for something like this - that's wrong and I oppose to that." But Twitter users were quick to point out that the Welsh Government were not banning meal deals as whole, but that certain foods would no longer be a part of the promotion. In response, some Twitter users expressed their support for the initiative.
While no decisions have been made on what foods will not be allowed to be included in a meal deal, it is inevitable that some foods will be outright banned from being part of the meal deal price promotion due to its nutritional make up. In a statement from the Welsh Government, it said meal deals would not be banned outright but the "unhealthiest products" will be restricted from meal deals.
But whilst the legislation will not apply to all high fat, sugar and salt products, it will target food and drinks that contribute most to obesity. The Welsh Government hopes these measures will encourage the food and retail industry to consider how healthier options can be made more available and affordable, so that no-one is priced out of a healthy diet.
