Agenda

Morning

08:30 – 09:00

Registration of Participants and Welcome Coffee

09:00 – 10:30

Session 1: Keynote Presentations

This opening session will set the scene for the two days of discussion and present key stakeholders’ views for addressing the complex issue of obesity and lifestyle-related diseases in Europe. What progress has been achieved so far under the EU Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health? What should be the roadmap to sustain the momentum and achieve concrete results in the next two to three years? What is the role of policy makers and stakeholders in promoting healthier lifestyles?

Moderator:
Kate Trollope, Editor, EU Food Policy

09:00 – 09:30

View from the European Commission

Paola Testori Coggi, Director General, DG Health & Consumers, European Commission

09:30 – 10:00

View from the European Parliament

Jo Leinen MEP, Chair of Committee on Environment, Health and Food Safety , European Parliament

10:00 – 10:30

View from the food and drink industry

Mella Frewen, Director General , CIAA

10:30 – 10:55

Coffee Break

10:55 – 11:20

Objectives of the Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health and of the High Level Group on Nutrition and Physical Activity

Despina Spanou, Principal Advisor, DG Health & Consumers, European Commission

11:20 – 12:45

Session 2: Working on healthier food options: Reformulation and innovation

Building upon the EU Framework for National Salt Initiatives, the European Commission is exploring different scenarios for extending its reformulation framework to other nutrients such as saturated fat and sugar. How can the EU support national actions? What nutrients should be prioritised? What are the regulatory and technical barriers to reformulation? What effect does consumer behaviour have on the reformulation challenge and how can this be addressed?

Panellists:
Susanne Løgstrup, Director, European Heart Network (EHN)
Roberto Ciati, External Scientific Relations Director, Barilla Group
Ellis Vyth, Researcher , VU University Amsterdam
Laurence Doughan, Co-coordinator of the National Food and Health Plan , Public Service of Health, Food Safety and Environment – Belgium

Afternoon

12:45 – 13:45

Lunch Break

13:45 – 15:15

Session 3: Responsible advertising and marketing to children

Commissioner for Health, John Dalli stated advertising restrictions are not necessary as long as the industry is committed to responsible advertising. In this perspective, has the industry succeeded in developing efficient codes of conduct? Are public authorities supportive of these initiatives? What assessment can be made of the advertising industry's commitment to self-regulation? Are voluntary methods enough to help reduce obesity? Is the Digital Age an additional complexity to the monitoring of the commitments and what is the potential influence on the future work of the EU Platform?

Afternoon Moderator:
Miguel Fernandes da Silva, Director, Health and Nutrition Policy, EAS

13:45 – 15:15

Panellists

Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, MEP, European Parliament
Will Gilroy, Communications Director, The World Federation of Advertisers
May Shelton, Project Officer for Food Marketing to Children, Consumers International
Catie Thorburn, President, Generation Europe Foundation

15:15 – 15:45

Afternoon Break

15:45 – 17:15

Session 4: Nutrient profiling developments

The long awaited EU nutrient profiles should be finalised and adopted by the European Commission in the coming year. Could the EU profiling system find applications beyond the nutrition and health claims regulation? How can nutrient profiling achieve further improvements in food reformulation? Should the system compare all foods or judge them on a category-by-category basis? How will industry need to adapt to this? What impact will the EU system have on the model being developed by the World Health Organisation?

Introduction:
Miguel Fernandes da Silva, Director, Health and Nutrition Policy, EAS

15:55 – 17:15

Speakers

Dr. Michael Kunze, Professor and Director, Institute of Social Medicine, University of Vienna
Margherita Caroli, President, European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG)
Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, MEP, European Parliament

17:15 – 18:15

Networking cocktail reception

An excellent opportunity to network over drinks.

Morning

09:00 – 10:40

Session 5: Health claims - the next steps

EFSA recently published the third batch of Article 13 health claims, in which most claims were given negative scientific opinions. With the delays in the process of the Commission to adopt the first list before the end of 2010, is there a lack of transparency about the scientific criteria required for the substantiation of claims? How can the difficulties over the legal use of the claims be overcome? What are the exact next steps as part of the controversial application of the health claims regulation? Will the role of EFSA remain the same? How will industry be guided along the way?

Morning Moderator:
David Byrne, Former European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, European Commission

09:00 – 09:25

Keynote Address

Juliane Kleiner, Head of Unit for NDA Panel, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

09:25 – 10:40

Panel discussion

Basil Mathioudakis, Head of Unit, Food Law, Nutrition and Labelling , DG Health & Consumers, European Commission
Pr. Dr. Markwart Kunz, President, The Federation of European Specialty Food Ingredients Industries (ELC)
Monique Goyens, Director General, BEUC
Anne Heughan, External Affairs Director, Unilever

10:40 – 11:00

Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30

Session 6: Developments in front of pack food labelling

Following the Parliament's first reading vote in December 2010, the Council reached a political agreement on the proposal for regulation on food labelling. With a numbers issues still to be settled at the second reading in April, can an agreement be reached? Will clearer and more consistent food labelling rules start emerging as a consensus between the two institutions? Should national governments be allowed to decide on visual support systems for nutrition labelling?

11:00 – 12:30

Panel discussion

Chiara Tomalino, Food Policy Officer, EURO COOP
Marta Baffigo, Director Global Public and Regulatory Affairs, Kellogg Company
Josephine Wills, Director General, The European Food Information Council (EUFIC)
Annelies Rotteveel, Lecturer in Nutrition , The Hague University (on behalf of EFAD)

Afternoon

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch Break

13:30 – 15:00

Session 7: The effectiveness of taxation as a tool to tackle obesity

An increasing number of European Governments have implemented or are considering taxation of foods high in salt, sugar and saturated fat as a way to tackle the obesity pandemic. Can food taxes and subsidies potentially contribute to healthier consumption patterns? Has the effectiveness of taxation tools been proven? To which extent does it open the door to discrimination against some categories of foods?

Afternoon Moderator:
Delphine Millot, Director, Grayling

13:40 – 15:00

Panel discussion

Salvatore Gabola, Chair of Public Policy and Communications Committee, Union of European Beverages Associations (UNESDA)
Luiza Bara, Director of Policy and Strategy, European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)
Thorbjoern Christensen, Consultant, Danish Ministry of Taxation
Franco Sassi, Senior Health Economist, OECD

15:00 – 15:30

Afternoon Break

15:30 – 16:00

Session 8: Wrap-up and challenges for the future

This interactive session will summarise what has been seen from the 2 days’ proceedings and will discuss the future roadmap for addressing the complex issue of obesity and lifestyle-related diseases in Europe, with questions invited from the floor.
Delphine Millot, Director, Grayling
Kate Trollope, Editor, EU Food Policy

16:00 – 16:00

End of conference