Strawberries And Cream Fall Victim To TFL Junk Food Ban

It’s hard not to give into temptation, so the good folks at Transport for London (TfL) have been trying to make it easier for all of us.

They’ve banned ads for junk food on the Tube, the sides of buses, and even in bus shelters, so that we’re not bombarded with images of unhealthy treats.

But it seems their definition of junk food is rather broad and a number of great British classics are falling victim of the ban.

An advert for Wimbledon was taken down on the District Line, because it included the traditional strawberries and cream that are often enjoyed at matches.

It’s not the only one either, with a picture of a curry removed from an advertising space at Brick Lane.

The ban has been well-received by many people, including London mayor Sadiq Khan and a number of celebrity chefs, but it does seem a bit heavy handed.

While it’s quite clear why biscuits and cakes should be included in the ban, a freedom of information (FOI) request by the Spectator found some more baffling items falling foul of the regulations.

For example, ads for pesto, cheese, olive oil, honey and tinned fruit are all not allowed, because of their high fat, sugar or salt content.

Pesto is surely not the first thing that comes to mind when anyone is thinking about junk food!

TfL said: “This does cover things you may not necessarily deem to be ‘junk food’ so things like jam would be not allowed!”

It turns out things that look a bit like junk food are also banned, with an ad for Time Out Magazine having to be edited, because it featured an image of the moon that could have been mistaken for a Christmas pudding.

Since the ban was introduced in February, TfL has spent £16,155 getting rid of or censoring ads that count as junk food according to its very strict definition.

Obesity is a serious issue in the UK and something that costs the NHS billions, so it’s easy to see what TfL is trying to achieve, but it’ll be interesting to see if its rules stay so rigid over time or whether a little bit of common sense can creep in.