40 health organisations, academics, and food groups are calling on the Government to stop delaying the publication of the final report of the voluntary industry Sugar Reduction Programme. The call comes on the 4th anniversary of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which has already removed thousands of tonnes of sugar from soft drinks.
The final Sugar Reduction report is expected to provide further evidence of the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, whilst also exposing a lack of progress in most other product categories covered by the voluntary reduction programme.
In the letter to Secretary of State for Health Sajid Javid MP, organisations point to the worrying recent increase in obesity prevalence amongst primary school children, and the urgency of addressing increasing health disparities which have been exacerbated during the pandemic.
They argue that evidence from the final Sugar Reduction report is vital to inform the next steps in mandating further industry-wide reform towards healthier food and drink. Organisations writing to the Health Secretary include Sustain, Obesity Health Alliance, British Heart Foundation, The Food Foundation, Royal Society for Public Health, British Dental Association, Diabetes UK and Action on Sugar.
Caroline Cerny, alliance lead at the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “Improving the nation’s diets is needed to level up on health and reformulation of everyday foods is one of the most equitable ways to achieve this. It’s vital that the final sugar reduction report is published so it can inform future approaches to incentivising reformulation in a more effective way.”
Barbara Crowther, Children’s Food Campaign co-ordinator at Sustain, added: “This report is already six months overdue, and with childhood obesity prevalence rising sharply, we should not be wasting any more time.
“We believe it will reveal the industry leaders and laggards on sugar reduction, and where further mandatory mechanisms need to be targeted. It’s crystal clear that when the government legislates, as it did with the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, much faster and deeper progress occurs. We hope the Government will mark this anniversary by committing to publish the final Sugar Reduction report without any further delay.”
NAM Implications:
- The apparent reluctance to publish begs the question ‘Why the delay?’
- Making it even more embarrassing for laggard categories and brands…
- …when the final report eventually hits the streets.
