Jeremy Hunt considers new fat and sugar limits Mr Hunt said the Government had taken action over the last couple of years to tackle the problem, and that had led to a reduction in the amount of sugar and salt in supermarket foods. He added: "This is a very, very serious problem. It's now potentially a bigger threat to the life chances of children than not being able to find a job when they leave school. But Mr Burnham said voluntary agreements with the food industry were not working, and Labour is now looking at legal limits setting maximum permitted levels of fat, sugar and salt in food aimed at youngsters, which could include a 30% cap on sugar in cereals. The shadow health secretary said: "It is clear that the current voluntary approach is not working. Labour wants to lead this debate. That is why we are asking the public and experts if new limits for sugar, fats and salts would be the right approach. Like all parents, I have bought products like cereals and fruit drinks, marketed as more healthy, that contained higher sugar levels than expected. I don't think that any parent would be comfortable with their child eating something that is 40% sugar. Labour cited a report by consumer group Which? last year that found high sugar levels in 32 out of the 50 breakfast cereals it examined, with Kellogg's Frosties the highest at 37g per 100g. Gabriel Scally, former regional director of public health for the south west at the Department of Health, said: "The continued rise in childhood obesity is an urgent call to action and must not be ignored. I applaud the Labour Party for tackling the issue of the foodstuffs filling our children with the empty calories that fuel obesity. Helping parents protect and promote the future health of our children is exactly what we need to be doing.