Food companies in the UK have announced that they will introduce a cap on the number of calories in any single serve confectionery item. Companies such as Nestlé, Ferrero and PepsiCo have agreed with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) that there will be a 250 calorie cap on these individually wrapped items sold in shops.
They aim to complete the work by 2016 at the latest, which should allow them sufficient time to reformulate or reduce their products. The introduction of the cap may see many products reduced in size and the companies intend to reduce the price of such items accordingly.
Mondelez and Mars have previously introduced their own voluntary 250 calorie cap.
This announcement is timely as recently there have been increasing calls by campaign groups such as Action on Sugar for a sugar tax to be introduced, as part of a seven-point plan to tackle childhood obesity. In addition, a report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition is due out later today putting forward recommendations for restrictions on in-store marketing and sponsorship of sporting events by products containing high sugar levels. Furthermore, the department of health established agency Public Health of England is also expected to publish its findings later today agreeing with these recommendations and putting forward some reccommendations of its own.
It is significant that all FDF members have agreed to this cap and sources in the industry say that they hope this voluntary calorie cap could avoid a sugar tax. However this measure is an overall calorie reduction rather than a cut in sugar levels and may not be sufficient to appease the various campaign and action groups.
