Israel planning to slap special tax on junk food to curb ballooning obesity

-

The Israeli government is taking concrete steps to help Israelis eat right, with the help of the Tax Authority.

The Tax Authority agrees to support a special tax on unhealthy foods, it said this week, to encourage healthy eating habits and help curb obesity. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry for the first time endorsed a plan that will permit special labeling of healthy foods.

"There are countries that tax unhealthy food," Eran Yaakov, deputy director general for finance and development at the Tax Authority told Haaretz, and the authority would like to examine the approach as one way of encouraging healthy eating. He said he would convene a committee with representatives from the health and education ministries to promote the idea of taxing unhealthy food.

According to Health Ministry data, 37 percent of Israeli adults are overweight and another 15 percent are chronically obese. Fourteen percent of Israeli youth are overweight and another seven percent are obese. It is estimated that the excess weight among Israelis costs the Israeli economy NIS 5.8 billion a year in healthcare costs.

Read More: Haaretz


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huge Japan Quake Cracked Open Seafloor

-
The March 2011 megaquake off the coast of Japan opened up fissures as wide as 6 feet (3 meters) in the seafloor, a new study finds. The fissures now scar the seafloor where peaceful clam beds once lay, according to Takeshi Tsuji, a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan . Along with seismic studies, the fissures, revealed by manned submersible vehicles that investigated the seafloor after the quake, show how the crust around the quake's epicenter expanded and cracked.
Read more

Index for a million documents on Polish Jewry to go online

-
Researchers of Polish Jewry are set to gain online access to more than 1 million new documents following an agreement signed by the Polish State Archives. Under the agreement signed last week, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland will receive indices to the documents from the Polish archives authority and place them on the website of the online database within one year, a JRI-Poland statement read.
Read more

A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher

-
The largest baking company in the United States will be removing kosher certification from nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA confirmed to JTA that it will be removing the certification. The company produces brands including Arnold, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Freihofer’s and others. Two of its major brands, Entenmann’s and Thomas, will remain certified kosher. So, kosher eaters, your crumb doughnuts and English muffins are still safe. A couple of rye breads also will retain their certifications. “Removing the kosher certification from some of our products was strictly a business-process decision to enable more efficient operations, and it was one we did not make lightly,” Bimbo said in a statement. “Thomas’ and Entenmann’s products as well as Arnold’s and Levy’s Rye Breads will remain kosher-certified. It is important to note that we have heard our consumers’ concerns and are working with kosher certification organizations and discussing alternative solutions.” The c
Read more