Tag Archives: Sweeteners

Jamie’s Sugar Rush – Not a rushed response?

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SodasSo it’s been a few weeks since Jamie’s launched his battle against sugar , and I’ve been waiting to hear the response and reaction from consumers, manufacturers, legislators, and frankly anyone! Interestingly, even though everyone is talking about in sugars in our foods and drinks, it hasn’t really been the storm I was expecting.

This got me thinking, whilst it is certainly a good idea to tackle how much sugar we all eat and drink, as Jamie showed the dental and general health implications could be huge. This in turn could reduce the strain on the NHS and have wider reaching benefits. Whilst his campaign message is undoubtedly very well intended, I have a few questions on his approach.

Firstly, would a 10p increase in drinks costing £2.45 in his restaurants really dissuade anyone from ordering a drink with added sugar, particularly when you consider other restaurants charge around £2.50 anyway?  I realise this is just the start to his tax proposition however, other restaurants have appeared to be slow or reluctant to follow his lead, which is intriguing.

Whilst he backed up his manifesto with the observed reduction in fizzy drink consumption in Mexico following a one peso drinks tax, can we really compare these very different nations and use the same the approach to very different social status and sugar intake problems?  He hardly mentioned the early stage results of the Mexican findings, nor discussed the difficulties observed during the introduction of France’s soft drink tax, which showed a far lower level of impact over a longer period of time, and is a nation with a closer socio-economic structure to the UK.

The final queries I have from Jamie’s sugar rush, were when Jamie outlined how much sugar we can easily consume in our diets (without even having fizzy drinks, desserts or sweets).   When discussing a typical daily diet, Jamie found we could easily consume over five times the recommended level of sugar without a fizzy drink in sight, fundamentally questioning the point of focusing on a single food offering, rather than recommending balance and moderation.  This got me thinking, if sugar is in a wide range of our foods and drinks already, what are the food and drinks industry doing to align with government recommendations?  Are they doing anything to reduce sugar in their products already?

The food and drinks industry aren’t just standing idly by and increasing the sugar levels in their products, many of them are constantly striving to reduce sugar contents right under our noses!  Using a small step reduction approach, which takes a small amount of sugar out of the product so that consumers won’t notice, they then wait until everyone has adjusted to the new sweetness level and do it again.  This method has been used on reducing salt and sugar in products for years, however it does take time.  Larger scale jumps can lead to consumers noticing a large difference and rejecting of the product (even if claimed on the label), which can severely damage consumer enjoyment, the product and even perception of the brand too.  All of these are heavy costs to the food and drinks industry, and they are determined to products that taste good and consumers will like.

Alternatively, sweetening agents such as aspartame, sucralose and more recently stevia have also been included into products.  These deliver sweetness without the diabetes and tooth decay issues associated with sugar, and are commonly used in diet drinks and as table top sweeteners.  However, consumer perceptions of sweeteners are mixed, with some feeling these aren’t a natural source of sweetness and opting for sugar and honey alternatives, whilst others find these an option for low-calorie enjoyment of sweet products.

Jamie’s sugar rush has highlighted a key debate in the production of our foods and drinks, and the need to strike a balance between great tasting products and healthy lifestyle.  I’m sure this debate will continue for the foreseeable future, and maybe Jamie’s efforts will be a slow burning reminder for the food and drinks industry to keep sugar near the top of their priorities.

Soft Drinks

Sugar wars – The attack of the chef

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Sugar is in the headlines again this week and battle lines are being drawn.  Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has launched an attack on sugar in a Channel 4 documentary to be shown later this week on UK TV, and the Food and Drink Federation has already hit back in defense.  This couldn’t be more topical following the recent SACN guidelines aiming to reduce sugar consumption to 5g a day.

Jamie Oliver and his team are aiming to introduce a tax on soft drinks with added sugar.  The sugary drinks tax would increase beverage costs by 20p per litre, which would add around 7p onto the cost of canned soft drinks.  Soft drinks have been singled out in Jamie’s manifesto as he states they are the largest single source of sugar consumption for children, providing high calorie intakes and impacting dental health.  Although a 20p per litre cost increase may not sound like much, the cost increase would be too large for manufacturers to absorb themselves and would therefore be passed directly on to consumers with the intention to reduce sugary drink consumption, increase overall public health, improve dental health and potentially reduce obesity levels.  Other countries have already introduced this tax with varying degrees of success, including France, Hungary, and most recently Mexico where a 10% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is projected to decrease consumption by around 12% and could substantially reduce the prevalence of obesity.

However the Food and Drink Federation has already hit back, stating sugar consumption in the UK is in decline, with increasing consumption of diet product offerings.  The regulatory body also insists that sugary soft drinks are not the largest source of calories consumed by children, with director general Ian Wright suggesting that government legislation of sugar consumption won’t work by “Demonising one nutrient out of a range on the national menu is not a healthy way to proceed.”  Since many food and beverages are already taxed, the federation suggests any additional taxes would not be proven effective at driving long-term dietary changes, as found with the sugary drink tax in France showing initial decreases in consumption followed by normal patterns resuming.

This debate got me thinking, how can we define what is a “sugary drink”?  What about natural sugars?  Plenty of products already state “No Added Sugar” on the label, would these be exempt from the sugar tax?  Fruit juices can contain similar amounts of fructose as the levels of added sugar in soft drinks, would these need to be taxed even though the sugar isn’t “added”.  With the ever increase demand for natural products, will including natural sources of sweetness such as fruit juices and honey be included in this tax too?

Another thought is about the level of sugar in these drinks.  Would a blanket price increase be introduced, as requested in Jamie’s manifesto, or would the level of tax be based on the amount of sugar in a product?  Would providing sugar tax bands, or a sliding tax scale support the food and drinks industry to reduce sugar levels, and encourage consumers to make healthier choices?

I look forward to this documentary to find out more details, answer these questions and really understand the options, opportunities and challenges facing us to reduce sugar in the UK population’s diet.

Halving sugar intakes – What impact does this have on food & drink?

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Sugar on spoonThe Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), has recommended the average daily intake of sugar in the UK to be halved.  This aims to reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and improve overall dental health.  This interesting BBC News Article on Sugar Intakes highlights the role of consumers, retailers and the food and drinks industry in taking steps towards this dietary change.

But will this be easy to achieve?  Well I think there are definitely some challenges ahead, both in terms of changing consumer behaviour, but also for food and drink developers.  Moving towards alternative sweetening options such as natural and artificial sweeteners is not a simple task of replacing like for like.  Removing or replacing sugars and can severely affect the sensory characteristics of products not just by impacting the sweetness, but also the overall flavour and how it is delivered, the texture and mouthfeel of the product and the after-effects after swallowing.  This makes any changes, even small ones, easy for consumers to notice and can lead to disliking and rejecting the low sugar formulation.

This reminds me of The Sugar Debate we had at work.  Recently MMR carried out a quick online poll asking people whether sugars or artificial sweeteners concerned them most in their foods and drinks.  Interestingly 33% of consumers were concerned by sugar, whilst 29% were concerned by aspartame and 4% by sucralose.  Perhaps the recommendations from the SACN will increase concern over sugar and make the first steps towards adapting consumer diets.

The Sugar Debate: What are consumers most concerned about?