WORLD
Denmark Taxes Fatty Food
Baku, October 4 (AZERTAC). In a bid to encourage healthier eating among its citizens, Denmark, a country famous for its butter and bacon, has brought in a tax on foods containing more than 2.3% saturated fat. As from last Saturday, all such products in Denmark now carry a tax to the tune of 16 Danish krone ($2.86, £1.84) per kilogram (2.2 lbs) of saturated fat that goes into making them.
Ole Linnet Juul, food director at Denmark's Confederation of Industries said the tax will raise the price of a small pack of butter by around £0.25 ($0.39), reports the Associated Press. The price of a burger will go up by around £0.09 ($0.14).
Denmark is thought to be the first country in the world to bring in a tax on fatty foods. Like some other European nations, it already taxes sugar, chocolates and soft drinks.
A large majority in the Danish parliament voted in favour of the tax last March as a measure to help increase the average life expectancy of Danes by three years over the next decade.
Life expectancy in Denmark is much lower than in other Scandinavian countries, according to a 2005 OECD report that estimates life expectancy among Danes to be 77.2 years, which is 1.6 years below the OECD average of 77.8.
Jakob Axel Nielsen who was conservative Minister for Health and Prevention from November 2007 to February 2010, introduced the idea of a tax on saturated fats in 2009, because they contribute to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Danish industry is pressing politicians to simplify the new tax, which is not calculated according to how much saturated fat is in the end product but according to how much is used in making the product, which they say adds unnecessary costs to companies.