Eatlean engages parliament with healthy cheese

On Wednesday 30 March 2022, Members of the UK Parliament were given the opportunity to sample Eatlean, the nation’s healthiest cheese, in a celebration of Cheshire Day.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and DEFRA Minister Lord Benyon were among those to try new Eatlean Tasty Mature and hear of the brand’s ambition to support the government’s health agenda.

Joining other local Cheshire businesses in Westminster, representatives from Eatlean engaged with parliamentarians on the importance of addressing the UK’s food system and growing health crisis.

Eatlean founder George Heler said: “The UK is the most obese country in Western Europe and the situation is only getting worse. Obesity rates are nearly doubling by the time children leave primary school with a quarter of Year 6 students now overweight or obese.

“We are calling for a system-led approach through legislation which drives long-term positive change within our food, health and ecological systems.”

The Heler family have carved a reputation as innovators within the cheese industry, building their cheese-making business over three generations from their Cheshire dairy to become globally renowned for quality produce. George, the grandson of Joseph Heler, brought Eatlean to market in 2016, producing the nation’s first cheese containing 90% less fat than standard cheddar.

George explained: “With Eatlean, we have created something special. We believe sustainable, incremental changes can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing. This is why we created a 100% natural cheese which encourages people to live better.”

Members of Whitehall were reportedly impressed by Eatlean’s creamy texture and depth of flavour, as well as its impressive nutritional credentials.

“Eatlean is supporting Government’s ambition to improve the nation’s health in three ways: through basket swaps directly with the consumer, by working with food manufacturers and retailers on product reformulation, and by engaging with the community to support health programmes locally,” George explained.

“Thank you to Kieran Mullan and our East Cheshire MPs for providing this opportunity to join local producers for Cheshire Day and showcase all that our county has to offer in terms of food and drink production.”

Dr Kieran Mullan MP added: ”It was great to see a local business passionate about their products and having the opportunity to speak to the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Health Ministers about the role they want to play in helping us get healthier as a nation. This is a really important goal for all of us and it’s great to have a local businesses playing their part.”