Transport for London bans 'unhealthy' artisan cheese advert

The mock up featuring the 'unhealthy' cheese banned by TfL

An advert featuring an artisan cheese has been banned on London's transport network as it has been deemed too unhealthy.

Transport for London (TfL) said that the cheese element of the advert did not comply with its advertising standards.

Online cheesemonger Cheesegeek called the policy "extremely simplistic".

The posters were designed for Tube platforms and buses by business premises provider Workspace.

They read: "From crunching numbers to selling cheese online, it all happens at Workspace."

'Frustrating'

Edward Hancock, CEO of the artisan cheese start-up Cheesegeek said: "The whole reason for TfL's policy is to prevent childhood obesity but how they think artisan cheese will promote child obesity is incredulous.

"We were initially given the go-ahead a couple of months ago, but at the end August, we were told to tell them the saturated fat content of the cheese in the picture, and they came back saying it violated their standards.

"It is extremely frustrating and simplistic way of categorising food. It suggests TfL passengers aren't intelligent enough to understand the complexities of a balanced diet."

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The transport network was the only place Workspace had planned to advertise as it only operates across London.

Other foods banned on TfL adverts include olive oil, pesto and soy sauce.

The advert was planned to be used on buses and Tube platforms

Mr Hancock said: "What seems extremely unfair is that alcohol is allowed to be advertised on the network, as well as lots of other unhealthy food.

"We spent months working on this and it's incredibly frustrating."

TfL said advertised foods could be considered for an exception if there was appropriate evidence that the product did not contribute to high fat, salt and sugar diets in children.

A TfL spokesperson added: "The advert does not comply with our advertising policy, which uses the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) model to define foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt.

"The rest of the advertising campaign for Workspace was deemed compliant and four different creatives will be running on our network."

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