Eat less cheese, healthy food agency tells the Dutch

The Dutch healthy eating agency Voedingscentrum published updated recommendations on Thursday, including a shift to more pulses and less cheese and red meat.

The changes, the centre says, are based on the latest scientific findings and have been translated into “optimal eating patterns based on age, sex, and dietary preferences”.

While the basic recommendations – lots of vegetables, fruit, legumes and wholegrain products, and not too much salt, saturated fat and sugar – remain unchanged, the centre is suggesting people eat more legumes, or pulses, to boost both “human and planetary health”.

Adults, the agency says, should now eat no more than 100 grams of red meat a week and 200 grams of other meat and fish – this was a total of 500 grams in the previous guidelines.

Cheese consumption should also be cut from 40 to 20 grams a day.

Agency behavioural expert Liesbeth Velema says the centre is aware that people eat differently and that “the food we enjoy, our habits, our culture as well as the unhealthy environment play a big role in this.”

“We know there is a difference between theory and practice. Our task is to reduce that distance, without ignoring what science tells us.”

At the same time, the centre says, government, the food industry and suppliers have a lot of influence on people’s eating choices and need to take “big steps” so that safe, healthy and sustainable choices are more accessible.

Farm minister Jaimi van Essen said in a reaction to the new recommendations that this autumn he would be working on plans to help consumers eat a more plant-based diet, which could involve price agreements with supermarkets.

The new government, for example, has pledged to introduce some form of tax on sugar.

The “schijf van vijf” or “wheel of five” was first developed in 1953 and last updated 10 years ago.