Food chief slams deep-fried Mars bar ‘delicacy’

The deep-fried Mars bar has come under fire from the chief executive of Food Standards Scotland. Picture: PA

THE deep-fried Mars bar should not be propped up as a cult delicacy if Scots want to tackle the country’s obesity problem, the head of Food Standards Scotland has warned.

The organisation’s chief executive, Geoff Ogle, suggested that promoting the 1,200-calorie snack – half an adult’s daily recommended intake – was irresponsible and contributed to the prevalance of disease and illness associated with being overweight.

He said: “It confirms how much there is to do to improve the Scottish diet and attitudes to diet and nutrition.

“We are deceiving ourselves if we don’t see the link between the promotion of calorie-dense food like this and Scotland’s weight and obesity problem .

“This isn’t about being a killjoy. With 68 per cent of Scotland’s adults overweight or obese, there is nothing to celebrate here.”

Lorraine Watson, owner of the Carron Fish Bar that is said to have invented the fatty treat, telling the Daily Record: “Deep-fried Mars bars are a convenient scapegoat but I’ll not stop selling them because they make a bureaucrat feel uncomfortable.”

She said that most deep-fried Mars bars were bought by tourists.