Cheese has caused consternation among Conservative ministers.
Plans to step up the existing “Change4Life” campaign aimed at advising people to reduce their consumption of saturated fats brought two government departments into conflict.
Environment ministers clashed with colleagues in the Department of Health over the plans.
Change4Life calls on people to switch to skimmed milk and instead buy reduced-fat cheese.
Senior figures at the Department for Food and Rural Affairs apparently were concerned that the message about milk and cheese could hit farmers when they were still distressed over the recent floods.
The UK dairy industry is worth £10billion and employs more than 5,000 people.
The Government said it was not suggesting that dairy is “bad” but does recommend swapping full-fat cheese to low-fat ones.
Although much in the news, the debate about consumption of saturated fats continues to swirl. Earlier in March, researchers at Cambridge University said there is much evidence to suggest that saturated fat may not be linked to heart disease.
At the same time, it is likely to be linked to obesity. Producers of convenience and fast foods have been shown to increase their use of fats in products to entice consumers’ taste buds.
