‘Blatant promotion’: Pete Evan’s TV paleo program slammed by dietitian’s body

THE Dietitians Association of Australia has blasted Seven’s Sunday Night program for giving Pete Evans a ‘blatant promotion’ for his controversial paleo diet.

THE Dietitians Association of Australia has blasted Seven’s Sunday Night for giving Pete Evans a “blatant promotion” for his controversial paleo diet, writes Jane Hansen.

They also said Mike Willesee down-played the serious health concerns of Evans’ paleo bone broth for babies in a story aired last week.

Concerns about the broth, touted as a substitute for infant formula were first raised in The Sunday Telegraph in February as Pan Macmillan planned to publish the now shelved Bubba Yum Yum book co-written by Evans.

On Sunday Night Evans ­defended the broth by saying the recipe had been around for decades and there was “no ­recorded case of harm”.

“This one-sided piece seemed to be a blatant promotion of the personal dietary views of one of the network’s prime time stars,” Claire Hewat, CEO of the DAA said. “The DAA has written a letter of complaint to Sunday Night.”

In the lead up to the Bubba Yum Yum book’s launch in March, Professor Heather Yeatman, of the Public Health Association of Australia, said the bone broth could impair a baby’s growth and development. “In my view, there’s a very real possibility that a baby may die if this book goes ahead,” she said.

Sunday Night reporter Mike Willessee turns ‘lab rat’ during his new interview with Paleo Pete Evans. Picture: Channel 7

Mike Willessee eats his first paleo meal with Pete Evans’ wife Nicola Robinson. Picture: Channel 7

The PHAA and the DAA wrote to the publishers which led to the book being shelved.

The DAA said the potential harm was glossed over by Willesee and Evans in the televised story.

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“The book promoted the broth to zero to six-year-olds as the sole source of nutrition, along with saying it was the next best thing to breastmilk, and the broth formula has never been tested, which is a requirement for all infant formula.

The vitamin A content was 800 per cent higher than recommended and that could kill a child,” Ms Hewat said.

Babies’ broth made from chicken bones from @bubbayumyum Charlotte Carr's instagram site.

Book cover of Bubba Yum Yum which has been pulled from shelves.

Michael Moore, of the PHAA, stood by their original concerns about the bone broth and backed the DAA.

“Having a celebrity chef’s version of infant formula without proper scientific or ­nutritional analysis is simply dangerous. Those concerns still exist and the PHAA stands with the DAA in calling for Channel Seven to be more ­responsible,” Mr Moore said.

Sunday Night executive producer Steve Taylor said the story was not meant to be an investigation, but more a road test with another instalment due on air tonight.

“Sunday Night’s Great Paleo Challenge was always pitched as a series of stories. Without seeing the remaining two segments, the DAA has rushed to judgment without the full picture,” Taylor said.