Certain food companies are still letting the side down when it comes to cutting sugar in their products we’re popping into our supermarket trolleys.
That’s according to pressure group, Action on Sugar that has compared and contrasted a selection of similar and top-selling food to illustrate the stark differences in company commitment to reducing sugar.
Organix Goodies Gingerbread Men Biscuits (18.8g), for example, contains 38% less sugars versus McVitie's Mini Gingerbread Men (30.4g sugars per 100g) – demonstrating that reducing sugar is possible for manufacturers, the group maintains.
It is now urging food manufacturers to get behind Public Health England’s voluntary reformulation programme in a bid to ‘help tackle the biggest public health crisis facing Britain today and save the NHS from bankruptcy’.
Following the curtailment of the government’s childhood obesity plan (announced in August), Action on Sugar has found that some companies put far less sugar in their best-selling products compared to others.
This means that the government’s reformulation target of a 20% reduction in sugar can be easily achieved well before 2020.
But, Action on Sugar is now calling on ALL food manufacturers to follow by example.
The new product survey of foods mostly enjoyed by kids includes breakfast cereals, yoghurts, biscuits, cakes, confectionery, pastries, ice creams and chocolate spreads.
Reformulation is the process by which the sugar and sweetness in products are gradually reduced
Action on Sugar will be closely monitoring the work of all food companies to ensure they are committed to preventing obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay in future generations.
Registered Nutritionist Kawther Hashem, researcher at Action on Sugar says: ‘Our survey clearly shows that companies can easily make products with much less sugar. Currently, they are profiting from selling high sugar foods, which put children at risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay’ adding that those in the food industry ‘now need to make this a priority and ensure children are not eating three times their maximum intake of sugar’.
