French campaigners call for ban on free fizzy drink refills
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Version 0 of 1. Campaigners in France have spoken out against the introduction of “drink as much as you like” drinks machines at two popular burger chains. Two fast-food restaurants, Quick and KFC, have recently installed American-style machines so that customers can consume unlimited amounts of drinks like lemonade and Coke, the Daily Telegraph has reported. The move has caused outrage among French chefs and nutritionists. Serge Hercberg, the head of the National Nutrition and Health Programme, a government healthy eating initiative, said: “This must be banned. It is in total contradiction with public health recommendations.” “I oppose all marketing practices that encourage people to consume excessive quantities of unhealthy products,” he told the Telegraph. A French chef and food campaigner, Xavier Denamur, said: “Anything that encourages people to eat as much as they like or drink as much as they like is a catastrophe. It should be outlawed.” Demamur said that the government in France was telling people to eat less fat, sugar and salt and there is a “largely state-owned” chain (Quick) getting kids hooked on fizzy drinks. “People get more addicted to sugar than cocaine,” he said. While obesity rates in France remain lower than most Western countries, fast-food is becoming more popular. The French spend more on burgers and sandwiches than on traditional bistros, and McDonalds has 1,285 restaurants in France, making it one of the chain’s most profitable markets. |