Monday, October 10, 2011

  First country to impose a fat tax: Denmark sets world record (Video)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A new "fat tax" in Denmark went into effect, affecting consumers of foods containing more than 2.3 percent saturated fat - Denmark setting the world record for the First country to impose a fat tax, according to World Record Academy (www.worldrecordacademy.com).

  Photo: This photo shows, from left to right, Sea Salted Butter France, Black Truffle butter, top, Butter of Parma Italy, bottom, Vermont Cultured butter, Buerre d'Isigny France, top right, and Brookford Farm Uncultured butter in Concord, N.H. AP photo//Matthew Mead ( enlarge photo )

 The Guinness world record for the largest hamburger commercially available weighs 267.62 kg (590 lb), and is available for $4,500 CDN (£2,839) from Chef Events Canada Inc.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the largest serving of fried chicken: it weighed 746.16 kg (1,645 lb) and was achieved by the Canoefest Fryers Club (USA) in Brookville, Indiana, USA.

  Denmark has become the first country in Europe and possibly the world to levy a tax on saturated fat, adding to an earlier ban on trans-fats and the introduction of a "sin" tax on sugary items like soda and candy.

   Denmark has imposed a "fat tax" on fatty foods in an effort to convince Danes to eat healthier. The tax is a complex one, in which rates will correspond with the percentage of fat in a product. The value of the tax is about $3.00 for every 2.2 pounds of saturated fat.

  The complex formula takes into account the amount of fat used to produce a particular food, not the amount that's in the final product, according to Ole Linnet Juul, food director at Denmark's Confederation of Industries.

  He calculated that the tax adds 12 cents to a bag of chips, 39 cents to a small package of butter and 40 cents to the price of a hamburger.

  The tax was approved by large majority in a parliament in March as a move to help increase the average life expectancy of Danes - which has fallen below the international average of 79 years - by three years over the next 10 years.

  The paradox has long been known that the French live several years longer (about 2.5 years) than the Danes but report their health as poorer.

  Denmark's new 'fat tax' aims to curb rising obesity rates by making unhealthy foods more expensive. Now other European governments are considering following suit.

  According to Deutsche Welle, Romania and Finland have been debating a similar fat tax for months. And just a couple of days after the Danish fat tax came into effect, British Prime Minister David Cameron said he, too, was considering similar legislation to tackle growing obesity levels in the country.