FDF statement on PHE Sugar Reduction Programme, Year 2 Report
20 September 2019
FDF statement on PHE Sugar Reduction Programme, Year 2 Report
Tim Rycroft, FDF Chief Operating Officer, said:
“Today's report from PHE shows that food and drink manufacturers are continuing to reformulate and change portion size to remove sugar from the nation's diet. This is an ongoing process, and since this data was collected in August 2018, FDF member companies have launched many new lower sugar recipes to great acclaim. We have repeatedly pointed out that PHE set hugely aspirational targets and that these could never be met across all categories in the ambitious timeframe given. What it does highlight is that the challenges of sugar reduction vary greatly from category-to-category. Everyone is playing their part and we've already seen lots of great innovation since then, with plenty more in the pipeline.
“Reformulation and portion sizing are the measures that will have the greatest impact on obesity [iii]. If Government wants companies to remain engaged with the programme then it must let them deliver what they have already been asked to do – work that is already making a real difference.”
More Information
[iii] McKinsey Global Institute (2014) Overcoming Obesity: An initial economic analysis
Contact Skye Oudemans, Corporate Affairs Division, at: skye.oudemans@fdf.org.uk, or 02074207120.
