I would like to comment on Point 7 of the Draft Rome Declaration on Nutrition, which should be addressing unbalanced diets, rather than individual foods. First of all because individual foods are not necessarily a problem in themselves, if consumed in the right amount and with the right frequency within the overal diet. And secondly because a focus on balanced diets, rather than on individual products, would be coherent with the UN Political Declaration on NCDs of 16 September 2011, as well as with Point 12 e) of this Draft Rome Declaration itself, which states that: "nutrition improvements require the provision of balanced and diversified diets".
Furthermore, since the issue of "excessive intakes of saturated fat, sugars and salt sodium" is already addressed in Point 12 e), it would be redundant to also include it in Point 7.
I would, therefore, suggest to reword Point 7 of the Draft Rome Declaration as follows:
"7. Recognize that environmental and societal changes often have an impact on dietary and physical activity patterns, leading to higher susceptibility to obesity and noncommunicable diseases through increasingly sedentary lifestyles and unbalanced diets."
Finally, I would also caution against the inclusion in Point 12 f) of the sentence saying "while limiting the consumption of processed foods that negatively affect nutrition and health", as this could imply the introduction of rules which would not be compatible with competion laws applied in many countries.
Thank you for your attention and consideration and best regards.
Mr. Alessandro Cagli