Education Business

Whilst the debate on obesity amongst the population, particularly the young, and the importance of a balanced diet continues, the vending machine is being singled out and unfairly attacked, all in the supposed pursuit of the healthy lifestyle. When in reality it offers convenient choices that reflect the demands of today’s consumers and, as the Automatic Vending Association (AVA) explains, can help to solve the problem.
    
Led by Jonathan Hilder, the AVA is the trade body representing the £1.65bn refreshment vending industry. It is working with the Food Standards Agency and lobbying government to ensure that legislation does not impose limited choice or financial penalties on the consumer, as well as ensuring that the vending machine gets fair treatment.

Unhealthy lifestyle
The Food Standards Agency recently said that there is no such thing as unhealthy foods just unhealthy diets. With this view the AVA is in full agreement. It is well proven that a lifestyle that combines regular physical activity with consumption of a wide range of food choices is the key to a healthy lifestyle. It is vital that consumers, whether they are in schools, hospitals or the workplace, are able to make that choice for themselves.
    
It is worth noting that the UK snack and confectionary market is worth £39bn of which £7.8bn is chocolate and snacks. Only 5 per cent of the snack intake goes through the vending channel, so to attack the vending machine will do little to affect the health of the nation.
    
Government has placed particular concern on schools and the pressure to provide healthier food has intensified. We have seen schools bow to pressure and ban certain products from machines and introduce new “healthier choices”. In reality this has meant that the pupils have been forced to purchase the banned items outside school. As Jonathan Hilder, AVA CEO, pointed out: “When you impose restrictions on choice, all that happens is that the point of purchase moves to another place which often can’t be controlled.”
    
Scotland’s largest teaching union has thrown its weight behind a campaign to amend the law to allow Aberdeen pupils at Dyce Academy to sell chocolate in their school. The Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) agrees that new healthy eating guidelines which have forced Dyce Academy to close their Fairtrade confectionary stall are “flawed”.
    
Deputy head teacher Ruth Teehan added that any legislation that denies pupils the opportunity to make balanced decisions “negates” what educationalists are trying to achieve.
    
The pupils told MSPs that healthy lifestyles cannot be “forced” on youngsters, and a balance must be struck because they would only go to nearby shops to buy chocolate and sweets that are not available in school. Chocolate will be part of their lives forever and they need to be educated to be able to properly make choices.
    
Educated to make the right choice was clearly a view shared by head teachers in Cardiff as they rejected a proposal by Cardiff Council to remove all junk food from vending machines in Cardiff’s secondary schools. Head teachers argued that a blanket ban is not the answer.

Common sense approach
Jonathan Hilder is keen to point out that the AVA is working on solutions to bring about change in consumer behaviour so “we can show that education and a phased approach to changing lifestyles will work so much more effectively that blanket bans”.
    
Before the election it was reported Mr Cameron and his advisors had decided that a new policy to give children back their childhood should include a ban on vending machines. Having discussed the rationale behind this proposal, common sense prevailed and the AVA has it in writing that the Conservative party does not intend to ban the vending machine. As Jonathan remarked “a win for common sense” and it is this common sense approach that he is keen to see more of.
    
He went on to explain: “The AVA supports any initiative that encourages the health and well-being of consumers. Vending offers flexibility and choice; it allows the widest range of products to be made available and can be used to reinforce good lifestyle messages. But when there is no clear guidance on what constitutes healthy and very little encouragement to educate the young then it is little wonder that there is so much confusion.”

Labelling systems
There are currently three recognised labelling systems operating to educate consumers and encourage healthy eating, namely; GDA, the traffic light system and calorific value.
    
Jonathan believes that the calorific value system is the simplest to follow, most people understand that if they consume more than the average recommended number of daily calories without burning them off then they will gain weight. He acknowledges that nutrition is a complex area but says we have to start somewhere. This view is supported by Gill Fine, director of consumer choice and dietary health of the FSA, who commented recently: “The battle between GDA and traffic light labels has been deeply unhelpful.” She went on to explain her work with caterers where 21 companies have put calories on menus, consumers have found this useful and she summed up by saying “it is excellent news for consumers”.
    
Keen to implement guidance to his members and committed to demonstrating that the vending machine is part of the solution to healthy eating, the AVA has formed the Vending Choice Coalition (VCC). The VCC is a group comprising of key food and beverage associations, major brand manufacturers and operator companies. Their goal is to ensure that consumers have freedom of choice to purchase a wide range of food and beverages through the vending channel in order to achieve a balanced diet.
    
The AVA and VCC organised a one day conference at University of Wales Institute, Cardiff to look at ways of increasing the range of items in vending machines. Expert speakers were on hand to offer advice and talk through real life case studies.
    
Jonathan concludes: “There is no such thing as junk food, just inappropriate diet and lack of exercise. Let’s educate people so that they understand and embrace this.” A point that was heard clearly when Jonathan was recently interviewed on Radio 4 You and Yours.