Food experts and food campaigners are totally unhappy with the lip service of UK supermarkets. The markets claim to be part of the initiative to reduce sugar content of sold foods. And they make people believe that they are out there to help people reduce sugar intake. But they are actually not promoting it. A new report from the scientific research group Action on Sugar has alleged this.
Sugar consumption in the UK
Sugar consumption in the UK is high and this has led to an epidemic of obesity and other chronic health conditions. People of all ages are affected. It was in 2017 that the scientific research group Action on Sugar started the initiative to reduce sugar consumption by the masses.
Sugar reduction can overcome obesity (Source: New Food magazine)It took into confidence the government, law agencies and retailers to help bring down the sugar content of foods. It also increased awareness about the harms of sugars in the general public. Moreover, it aimed to discourage people from consuming sugar.
The organization aimed to reduce sugar in packaged foods by 20%. The government goals to markedly bring down sugar consumption by 2020 has not been reached. In fact, the target was 82% below the desired and set goal.
The report from the Action on Sugar
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in December 2022 released the final report about its sugar reduction programme. And it revealed that the program has not been successful. The report said that since 2017 the amount of sugar reduction in cakes, biscuits and cereals has been a mere 3.5%.
Action on Sugar (Source: Twitter)In fact, the group Action on Sugar and the environmental charity Global Feedback accuse the supermarkets of playing a double game. They state that the supermarkets have failed in reducing sugar content in foods. They allege that these supermarkets are actually encouraging people to consume more sugar. Thus, they are adding fuel to the epidemic of obesity.
The report states that Tesco, Aldi, Waitrose and such supermarkets have helped people to increase the sugar consumption. And they mislead people and agencies by making them believe that the supermarkets are doing a lot to deal with national obesity issue.
The report states:
“Supermarkets continue to encourage sugar consumption through their drive for higher sales, despite paying lip service to healthy eating goals.”
“Promoting sugar reduction success without reducing sugar sales misleads the public and government to think that retailers are part of the solution to obesity and diet-related ill health, while in fact being part of the problem.”
None of the 10 supermarkets had any evidence to show that they are reducing the sugar content of their foods.
Henry Dimbleby’s resignation
The Lean Restaurants co-founder, Henry Dimbleby put in a resignation due to the failure of the Conservative party in tackling the problem of obesity in the UK. He said that the government is for a ultra free market ideology and has not been able to put the needed restrictions on the junk food industry. It has failed to rein them in.
Henry Dimbleby (Source: The Telegraph)Henry was the lead non-executive director at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for last 5 years. He was a fan of Winston Churchill who had said:
“The greatest asset a nation can have is the health of its people.”
Also, read Salt and sugar tax in England: Will the government accept this proposal?
Henry’s national food strategy called for taxing sugar and salt that is sold to the junk food industry. And the money thus raised should go to buying fruits and vegetables for the poor people. Furthermore, he wanted sales of foods with high fats, salt or sugar (HFSS) to be reported by the sellers especially large companies. But many of his recommendations were not implemented.