Dr. Grace O'Malley:

Unfortunately, our senior dietician could not join us today. I am sure she would have some really interesting observations from a dietetic point of view. As part of our treatment, the dietician leads a supermarket trip where she brings families to the supermarket to learn how to read food labels and how to shop. We take it for granted. Speaking for myself, if we grow up with a privileged middle-class lifestyle, we do not really appreciate the skills we glean by osmosis when surrounded by capable, skilled parents. There is definitely an issue around the promotion of unhealthy ultra-processed products. The sugar tax is definitely going to help that, but we need to evaluate how promotions change within supermarkets. As the cost of one beverage goes up, are they promoted differently? We must also examine how they are marketed. The Sydney principles call for the regulation of food marketing to children but we have not been very good about moving on that in Ireland. The Irish Heart Foundation, whose representatives the committee will hopefully invite, has done a lot of work around online advertising, which is hugely important.

In the realm of technology, retail stores are now using really pervasive techniques to draw people into the retail environment. Because the child is not really protected in the online world, there is even more vigorous marketing towards children. There is a big difference between different supermarkets. Some are much better at providing a balance between healthy foods and ultra-processed foods, but when one walks into some corner stores and local shops, one is confronted solely by ultra-processed food. That has to be addressed.