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01/03/2010 - Shops to get healthy food fridges

Around £200,000 a year will be spent on providing shops with refrigerators and shelves to display healthy food, the Scottish Government has announced.

In 2008, just over a quarter of adults and 15% of children in Scotland were classed as obese. If current trends continue, 40% of Scots will be obese in 20 years.

Scottish public health minister Shona Robison said £679,000 will be provided over three years and will be matched by £650,000 from retailers to extend the Scottish Grocers' Federation Healthy Living programme. The programme aims to sign up more stores, widen the range of healthy foods available in shops and pilot a scheme to make healthier meal-deals available in stores close to schools. It will also create a "gold standard" for stores who want to go the extra mile in promoting healthier foods.

Ms Robison said: "Extending this programme will make a huge difference to the availability of affordable, healthy food in shops. This is an opportunity for customers to get more choice from their local stores and for retailers to become an integral part of their communities by helping to improve Scotland's diet."

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