Following our exclusive report, ‘Responsibility deal salt targets may be ditched,’ the spokesman said: “DoH has absolutely no plan to ditch our work with industry on salt reduction. Quite the contrary, it remains one of our key priorities as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal into next year.”

The first phase of the department’s work on food under the Responsibility Deal had been to focus on salt reduction(using the 2012 salt targets); work to remove trans fats from foods and to promote voluntary calorie labelling in the out-of-home eating sector, he said.

Calorie reduction

“Moving into phase two early next year, we will introduce a new calorie reduction Responsibility Deal pledge along with a pledge for industry to sign up to on increasing people's consumption of fruit and vegetables.

“However the work on salt, trans fats and calorie labelling from phase on will continue,” said the spokesman.

The final phase of the Responsibility Deal; work on food will focus on the promotion of food along with sat fat reduction. Phase three is due to be introduced towards the end of next year.

Last week, FoodManufacture.co.uk reported unnamed, informed industry sources who claimed the government planned to abandon targets for reducing salt next year under a revised Public Health Responsibility Deal. The change would allow government to focus on calorie reduction of foods sold and increasing people’s physical activity, it was claimed.