After a week in which high-fat products unbalanced the demand-supply platform,Denmarkdecided it was time to take preventive measures in order to keep its population healthier. Therefore, the government imposed a tax that significantly increases prices for foods such as butter, margarine, milk, meat, oil or pizza.
‘I don’t think the tax will make that much difference. If people want to buy a cake, they will buy it. But right now they’re saving money,’ Christian Jensen, a local supermarket employee in Copenhagen told AFP.
Gitte Hestehave, DI foodstuffs spokeswoman told AFP that she considers this a mere tax, non-beneficial to people’s health, that will only weigh on consumers’ pockets and will also mean a lot of administrative work for producers and distributors: ‘Products that include other products that include saturated fats also have to have new prices worked out. Imported goods require a declaration from the producers abroad on exactly how much saturated fat has been used in production.’
Apparently, other countries plan on following Denmark’s example. But the tax may not be iron-clad – the European Union is currently analyzing its validity. Jeppe Rosenmejer, EU legal expert says competition issues may arise due to the lower price of imported products. ‘Hopefully the tax will be short-lived,’ he said.
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