Denmark levies world’s first ‘fat tax’

Denmark yesterday became the first country in the world to impose a fat tax after a week in which consumers hoarded butter, pizza, meat and milk to avoid the immediate effects.

“We have had to stock up with tonnes of butter and margarine in order to be able to supply outlets,” Soeren Joergensen of Arla Distribution told AFP.

The new tax, designed by Denmark’s outgoing government as a health issue to limit the population’s intake of fatty foods, will add €2.15 per kilo of saturated fats in a product.

This means an increase in the price of a pack of 250 grammes of butter, for example, by 30c to more than €2.42.

“It has been a chaotic week with a lot of empty shelves. People have been filling their freezers,” Christian Jensen of an independent local Copenhagen supermarket told AFP.