Call for government to introduce tough new measures on food companies - as they fail to reduce sugar voluntarily

Despite the government challenging the food industry in 2016 to reduce the overall sugar content of food products that contribute the most sugar to children’s intakes by 20 per cent by 2020. This new shock data further proves that robust measures are now urgently needed to incentivise the food industry to reduce sugar, especially as obesity prevalence among primary school children is increasing.

Both groups of experts were amongst the 40 organisations which signed an open letter on April 6, 2022, to the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid. They called on the government to stop delaying publication of the final Sugar Reduction Progress Report and use the forthcoming Health Disparities White Paper to set out the next stringent steps for the sugar reduction programme. Disincentivising food manufacturers (across all sectors) from producing increasingly sugary products is key to this. Recommendations should include regulatory measures such as extending the soft drinks industry levy to the most sugary food categories or introducing a new duty on sugar paid-for by manufacturers, as proposed by Henry Dimbleby in his 2021 National Food Strategy.