SCOTTISH Borders Council officers could take on a larger role policing the selling and marketing of high fat, high sugar and high salt foods.

In a paper which is set to go before councillors on Thursday, council officers have outlined a draft response to a Scottish Government consultation on reducing health problems associated with calorie intake.

In the paper, council officers suggest that as the council’s trading standards team already has experience around alcohol and tobacco restrictions, then it would ‘make sense to utilise that expertise’.

The draft response on enforcement, which if approved will be sent to the Scottish Government, reads: “Local authorities have experience of similar enforcement regimes in relation to tobacco and nicotine vapour products and have had a role in the online pricing of alcohol following the implementation of the minimum pricing legislation.

“Whilst it would be for the local authority to determine which service is best placed to enforce the proposals, trading standards already have a role in policing pricing and it would make sense to utilise the expertise that already exists in the local authority.

“However, it should be recognised that there will be a need for Scottish Government to work with local authorities to quantify current and future resources required to police pricing promotions and to provide these to local authorities to reduce the inevitable additional burden that the proposed restrictions will create.”

In July 2018 the Scottish Government produced a paper which set out the foods it felt needed to be targeted in order to reduce the caloric intake and weight of Scottish people.

These include: confectionery; sweet biscuits; crisps; savoury snacks; cakes; pastries; puddings; and soft drinks with added sugar.

The consultation asks if local authorities agree with this list, and whether more items should be added.

In their draft consultation response, Scottish Borders Council officers believe that ice-cream, ready meals and dairy desserts should also be included in the crackdown: “While it will certainly be useful to target the discretionary foods listed above there is also a need to include drinks high in sugar, salt, fat or calories irrespective of whether or not this is ‘added’.

“Similarly ice-cream and dairy desserts should also come under the scope of the new policy as they are often high in fat and high in sugar and do not form an essential dietary component.

“While diary-based desserts could offer some benefits in terms of calcium and other nutrients, these would be available from other sources in a healthy diet.

“Their benefit in a dairy-based dessert would be offset by the high energy density and presence of salts, sugars and fats.”

According to the NHS Health Scotland, in 2016, 29 per cent of Scotland’s children were at risk of becoming overweight, and 14 per cent were at risk of becoming obese. In 2016, 65 per cent of adults were overweight including 29 per cent obese.

The NHS says that some of the health risks of being overweight include an increase chance of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.