MINISTERS have sparked a massive row by reviving barmy plans to ban all junk food ads online.
Under the nanny state crackdown, supermarkets will also be barred from plugging the treats on telly before 9pm.
Sausage rolls, pasties, cakes — and even spreads such as jam and Marmite — are on the list because they are high in sugar or salt.
The Government’s own assessment reckons the crackdown will cut a child’s annual calorie intake by only 700 — equivalent to four bags of crisps.
In a victory for Trending In The News, unpopular plans to slap pints with calorie labels have been ditched.
But chain restaurants and brands will have to say how many calories their food contains.
Supermarket buy one, get one free offers on food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt will be barred.
Restaurants and food and drink bosses attacked the plans, which were unveiled in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech and kick in next April.
They warned it would hit businesses already hammered by Covid with red tape and fail to slash obesity.
British Takeaway Campaign vice-chairman Andrew Crook raged: “Just as thousands of small, independent restaurants and takeaways have started to feel optimistic about the future, the Government decides to slap us down with careless red tape.
“This ban will only hurt the little guy.”
Food and Drink Federation chief scientific officer Kate Halliwell branded the policy empty “headline chasing”.
Boris Johnson has spent most of his career railing against nanny state interventions but the PM changed his mind after his Covid brush with death which he blamed on being overweight.
