Don’t let them eat cake: How a personal opinion created a media storm

That was an idea mooted by Professor Susan Jebb, chairwoman of the Food Standards Agency, a body responsible for protecting public health in relation to food.

And her remarks have generated widespread coverage and a big slice of controversy.

She said: “We all like to think we’re rational, intelligent, educated people who make informed choices the whole time, and we undervalue the impact of the environment.

“If nobody brought cakes into the office, I would not eat cakes in the day, but because people do bring cakes in, I eat them.

“Now ok, I have made a choice, but people were making a choice to go into a smoky pub.”

She added that while the two issues are not identical, passive smoking inflicted harm on others and “exactly the same is true of food”.

Those comments have been the focus of many stories, including in The Times, where it was the front-page splash.

THE TIMES: Don’t let them eat cake #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/7voGKQcqsN

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 17, 2023

And the coverage was not restricted to the UK. Here’s a taste of the headlines:

Bringing cake to office as harmful as passive smoking, says chair of Food Standards Agency Sky News

People should not take cake into the office, suggests food watchdog chief The Guardian

Bringing cake to work is like passive smoking, suggests food regulator boss Telegraph

Cake in the office is as harmful as secondhand smoke, U.K. food official says Washington Post

Top ‘food watchdog’ compares bringing cake into an office to smoking New York Post

The story has been debated on LBC, TalkTV, BBC Radio 2 and ITV News among others.

And the comments have been the subject of many opinion articles. One in The Sun labelled Prof Jebb a “health fussbucket” and added that anyone who believes office staff harm colleagues by bringing in cakes is “clearly an egg short of a Victoria sponge”. In a separate column, the day of Prof Jebb’s remarks was labelled “the day common sense died.”

Even the Prime Minister has weighed into the debate, despite arguably having more pressing concerns than whether people should still take a Colin the Caterpillar cake into the office.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister believes that personal choice should be baked into our approach.

“We want to encourage healthy lifestyles. However, the way to deal with this issue is not to stop people occasionally bringing in treats.”

After FSA chief compared bringing cake into the office to passive smoking, No10 brings mini cakes to the Press Gallery.@RishiSunak spkswoman:"The PM is very partial to a piece of cake." His faves: carrot cake + red velvet.
Starmer spksmn:"He's a fan [of cake] in moderation" pic.twitter.com/qWnhu38BzW

— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) January 18, 2023

People feel strongly about cake. And, of course, there have been many ‘nanny state’ and ‘fun police’ concerns shared in some articles and on social media.

Whatever you feel about the comments, what can’t be disputed is that they have grabbed attention and sparked debate – cake hasn’t received so much media attention since one of the nation’s recent leaders suffered the great misfortune of being “ambushed” by one.

The story has got far more attention than had Prof Jebb repeated obesity advice that is already well-known.

During our media training courses, we stress the importance of spokespeople not repeating what is already known about a story or issue.

Journalists want to speak to people who can move the story on. Fresh insight and different perspectives are crucial media interview ingredients.

Say something interesting or controversial – journalists love trouble - and you will get more airtime and column inches.

And your message will reach more people.

Despite the media furore, Prof Jebb’s comments have shone a spotlight on an issue that needs addressing – another story last week showed the number of severely obese people having to be rescued by firefighters has surged by a third in a year.

Maybe what she said will make some people reconsider whether to bring sweet treats into work, even if a YouGov poll shows 77 per cent of Britons still think it is acceptable to bring food high in sugar and fat into the office.

So, a job well done?

Well, there is a problem.

Prof Jebb’s views don’t seem to be shared by her organisation.

The comments were made as part of her role on The Times Health Commission – a year-long inquiry the newspaper has set up to consider the future of health and social care in England during a time of increased pressure on services and budgets.

And The Times stressed she was speaking in “a personal capacity and not on behalf of the FSA.”

But those remarks have still been closely linked to her FSA role.

Look back at those headlines we highlighted earlier in this media training blog. They all refer to her FSA position.

It caused the organisation to take the unusual step of distancing itself from what its boss had said.

It put out a statement, linked from a social media post, that said, “you may have seen some comments in today’s media from our chair.”

In that statement, Prof Jebb said: “'I want to make it very clear that the views expressed in The Times article are not those of the FSA Board nor do they reflect current or planned FSA policy in any way whatsoever.

“I agreed to join the Health Commission in my role as an academic and the comments were made in a conversation with The Times and in discussion with other Health Commission panel members.

“As The Times article points out I made the comments in a personal capacity and any representation of them as the current position or policy of the FSA is misleading and inaccurate.”

You may have seen some comments in today’s media from our chair, Professor Susan Jebb, setting out her views on topics related to the prevention and treatment of obesity.
https://t.co/M7ziDJW9aq

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) January 18, 2023

But can personal views be separated from her role?

In The Grocer’s coverage of the story, an ‘industry source’ is quoted as saying, “either Susan Jebb is chair of the f**king FSA or she’s not.”

And in a pretty savage way, that’s the crux of the issue.

Good media training teaches delegates that when you offer a personal opinion, either proactively or in response to a question, journalists will still see you as a representative of your organisation.

The “it’s my personal view, not that of my business”, line doesn’t work.

So, if your personal opinion isn’t shared by the organisation you represent, you need to think twice about sharing it.

The cake / passive smoking analogy is such an impactful message you must assume it was one Prof Jebb carefully considered rather than offered off the cuff.

If so, why wasn’t the FSA media team informed in advance to see whether it undercut the organisation’s position, conflicted with its policies, or would prove too divisive?

Maybe a compromise could have been baked together. Something like: “Personally, I struggle when people bring cakes into the office. But it’s not fair to ban that, and no one wants to live in a nanny state. But it does test my self-discipline and resolve when my colleagues bake these delicious cakes and bring them into the office.”

That opportunity has ‘scone’.

So, perhaps the question now is what can the FSA do with all this interest in the story?

Can it newsjack a story about its boss and use it to promote its campaigns and messages?

We’ll have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure – it won’t be a piece of cake.

Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers. 

Click here to find out more about our media training.