London - Energy drinks should be age restricted just like cigarettes and alcohol, Jamie Oliver told British MPs.
The chef said he was shocked by the number of primary school children consuming the drinks - which can contain up to 20 teaspoons of sugar - every day.
He said it was time for ministers to consider radical action, including banning the sale of energy drinks to children below a certain age and asking them to show identification.
Oliver, who is also lobbying the government to impose a sugar tax on fizzy drinks, was asked to give evidence to the health select committee on ways to tackle the scourge of childhood obesity.
He said drinks companies should be forced to state how much sugar each bottle contains in teaspoons rather than grams, to make the amount clearer.
Passing MPs drinks he had labelled himself, he said one bottle of Ribena contained 13 teaspoons of sugar, while there were up to 14 in a small Pepsi.
Oliver said sugary beverages should be a rare treat, adding: “I’m not saying when you go to the cinema don’t buy your kids a drink, but I think we’ve normalised the consumption of sugary sweetened drinks at home.”
Waving a can of Red Bull which he had also brought, he told the MPs: “Is it right that someone who works in a corner shop or a supermarket sells this to a kid and at what age? I am referring to similar structures to alcohol and cigarettes, saying, ‘Have you got some ID?’ And if little Johnny, who is nine, walks into a shop and wants one of these, we’ve got to get medieval on this stuff.”
The chef said there is no label on energy drinks telling parents they are inappropriate for children, and that he had found “way too many of them” in primary pupils’ packed lunches during his campaign work. He called for teachers to be allowed to confiscate the drinks.
One in three 11-year-olds is overweight or obese, and the government is expected to publish a strategy to deal with the problem in January.
Oliver said tougher regulation was needed, including preventing the sale of junk food near schools and banning all adverts for unhealthy products aimed at children before 9pm.
It was understood that imposing a sugar tax had been ruled out by ministers - but Oliver, who is in talks with officials, insisted a levy on sugary and fizzy drinks was still an option. He urged Prime Minister David Cameron to “be brave” and implement it for three years to see how it worked. He accused governments over the past 30 years of doing “an incredible disservice” to children in failing to promote healthy eating.
Oliver has imposed a 10p tax on sugary drinks in dozens of his own restaurants and said it had cut consumption by seven percent.
Expert groups such as the British Medical Association also back a tax, saying this would help cut obesity, Type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.
Oliver, a father of four, said he had focused his battle on sugary drinks because research has shown they are a major factor in obesity among all age groups.
“When the largest source of sugar in our children and teenagers’ diets is sugary drinks, you question whether businesses can have free rein,” he said.
“The tax just reminds them who’s boss, and that’s child health and the government. When my kids are naughty, they go on the naughty step, that’s what this tax is.”
Oliver’s petition calling for a 7p sugar tax on cans of fizzy drink last night had nearly 150 000 signatures.
Daily Mail
* The Independent reports that the British government has come under fire in recent days for its failure to publish a review of international evidence on measures to cut sugar consumption - including regulation of advertising, and taxes - carried out by Public Health England.
Oliver said it “doesn't seem right” that the public could not see the evidence. The Department of Health has said the review will be published at the same time as the Government's new strategy to reduce childhood obesity.