THE Mayor of Tees Valley was today facing condemnation from health campaigners and politicians after launching a campaign to promote one of the world’s most unhealthy meals and cement its association with the area.

The chair of the National Obesity Forum has called on Ben Houchen to drop his campaign to secure Protected Designation of Origin Status (PDO) for Teesside’s parmesan, and dubbed the meal "monstrous".

Meanwhile, Darlington MP Jenny Chapman accused the mayor of using his position irresponsibly with the campaign, which got underway yesterday at Middlesbrough’s Jeff the Chef factory, where 10,000 parmesans a week are made.

He believes securing PDO status for the meal - flattened and bread-crumbed chicken breast or pork topped with béchamel sauce and cheese  - could increase business opportunities, inspire community interest and build pride.

The European scheme offers a stamp of authenticity to food produced or processed in a specific geographical area with features attributable to it.

If successful, Teesside’s parmesan would rank alongside products such as Champagne, Melton Mowbray pies, Wensleydale cheese and Parma ham.

National Obesity Forum chair Tam Fry called on the mayor to drop the campaign, saying promoting a dish that could contain 2,000 calories was irresponsible - especially in an area where obesity rates have remained among the worst in the country for many years.

Mr Fry said: “When someone asks me why North-East figures are so high, I can answer them in two syllables - parmo. You would have to be an Olympic athlete to eat it without effect - for the rest of humanity, there is an unbelievable risk of obesity.

“What is particularly horrific is that a person who has such a public position should be so irresponsible as to fight to protect such a monstrous food, with a calorie count of such magnitude.”

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman accused Mr Houchen of not taking his responsibilities as mayor seriously, telling him to “get on with the day job”.

She said: “He has a serious job to do and immediate challenges to tackle around jobs and the economy of Teesside and Darlington.

“Residents will be asking what is in his head, he has responsibilities and must take them seriously.

“I realise this is meant light-heartedly and some will see the funny side, but I think people would rather see him stand up for our part of the region in a way that we can be proud of - this is an embarrassment.”

Mr Houchen said the calorific content of his favourite dish was no reason to ignore its merits, saying other items with DPO status - such as champagne - could be harmful if not consumed moderately.

He said: “We need to officially protect the provenance of this local delicacy and must make it abundantly clear that the genuine article is only from Teesside.

“Securing PDO status would mean that people would know they were getting the real deal.”

Mr Houchen said the benefits would not be lost with Brexit as a similar UK scheme could be developed.

He added: “The parmo provides a light-hearted and positive opportunity to really galvanise community interest and support and to build local pride.

“It’s a key part of our local culture and we should be proud of Teesside and proud of the things that we produce.”

The mayor said he will now begin a public consultation into the issue before submitting the case to the relevant authorities.