European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi on Thursday signalled his openness to a taxation system on products high in sugar, fat, and salt to help finance public health during a meeting with the European Parliament’s health committee.
Asked by Renew MEP Vlad Voiculescu about his thoughts on taxing highly processed food, the commissioner concluded that it is “something we can reflect on” within the framework of the Commission’s cardiovascular health plan.
“We need a good measurement tool, because we’ve had these debates and, in general, they always end up in an ideological discussion about depriving people of their choices, about imposing conditions on industries, rather than about protecting public health,” Várhelyi said.
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Why not both?