Soft drinks industry levy on producers and importers which will be invested in England in programmes to reduce obesity and encourage physical activity and balanced diets for school age children.
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Under the strategy, the government will introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks from 2018.
The sugar tax was unlikely to meet its desired objectives of reducing childhood obesity, said Partington, not least since the soft drinks sector had done more than any other to reduce the calorie content of its products through the availability of low- and no-calorie variants. He also claimed the tax would unfairly penalise consumers and threatened as many as 4,000 jobs in the sector.
The Children’s Food Trust was also disappointed by the plan.
At the time, Britvic CMO Matt Barwell highlighted that the brand already has strict rules in place over advertising to children, saying it does not advertise to children aged under 12, does not use licensed characters and does not associate with online games or gaming.
LONDON-A long-delayed United Kingdom government plan to encourage less use of sugar in food and drinks to tackle childhood obesity has been criticized by campaigners and parts of the food industry, who described it as weak and flawed.
The 2020 target applies to the entire food and drink industry – retailers, manufacturers and food service included – but the United Kingdom government says confectionery, biscuits, cakes, morning goods (e.g. pastries), puddings, sweet spreads and ice cream will be its initial focus.
The PHRD sought to reduce the levels of fat, sugar and salt in food by reformulation by voluntary action by the industry.
This will be obtained through cutting sugar levels, making portions smaller or encouraging the uptake of lower sugar alternatives.
Mike Coupe, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, says there should be a tougher regime including compulsory targets for sugar and mandatory traffic light labelling.
Published this morning, the strategy detailed a number of programmes it would introduce to tackle obesity in children, many of which are focused on shifting consumers away from sugary products.
“The UK should lead the world in tackling obesity and type 2 diabetes and this is an embarrassing and inexcusable waste of a fantastic opportunity to put the nation’s health first”. “This will bankrupt the NHS unless something radical is done”.
“Food and drink manufacturers recognize our responsibility in meeting the challenges posed by obesity”.
No health minister was made available for media interviews and it was left to Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison – who helped draw up the strategy in her previous role as public health minister – to do the rounds of the broadcast studios. “We are committed to that partnership”, he says.
One such measure is the tax on soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml.
It also concluded that restrictions on price promotions on high-sugar food and drink could cut consumption by 6%.
The assumption of no changes in formulation is a problem – Mr Partington was keen to stress that his association announced plans a year ago to cut 20% of calories from soft drinks by 2020, which would presumably involve using considerably less sugar. “A policy focused on a single nutrient in narrow range of products – that provide an average of just 5 per cent of the total calories in a British teenager’s diet – is not the right response”.
Wright said: “Reformulation is hard and costly: there are different challenges for each product; recipe change can only proceed at a pace dictated by consumers”.
Today it’s key points were confirmed as the government announced its “Childhood Obesity Plan”.
“Where are the actions on the irresponsible advertising targeted at our children, and the restrictions on junk food promotions?”
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Television food advertising has become an influence on dietary patterns, promoting unhealthy food choices in children as portrayed in this article investigating children’s attitudes towards TV food advertising by examining four well-cited induction factors namely advertisement recognition, favorite advertisement, purchase request, and product preference.
