Drinks firms to cut sugar content

Jan 22 2013

Soft drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena have pledged to reduce the sugar in some products as part of the Government's efforts to cut obesity rates.

The sugar in the Ribena ready-to-drink line and Lucozade Energy will be cut by "up to 10%", while IrnBru maker AG Barr will reduce the calorie content across the majority of its drinks range.

Public health minister Anna Soubry welcomed the pledges as part of efforts to "reverse the rising tide of obesity".

England has some of the highest obesity rates in the developed world, with 60% of adults and one third of 10 and 11-year-olds being overweight or obese. The Government launched its Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge to encourage businesses and other organisations to help consumers consume less sugar.

The J20 brand has also announced it is to launch two flavours in a new slimline can which will represent a 10% calorie reduction compared with its standard 275ml bottle, while Co-operative Food will look at controlling calories in popular product lines and Burton's Biscuits will offer more portion control packs and review its recipes.

Ms Soubry said: "Being overweight and not eating well is bad for our health. To reverse the rising tide of obesity we have challenged the nation to reduce our calorie intake by five billion calories a day. On average that's just 100 calories less a day per person."

Food and Drink Federation director general Melanie Leech said: "We commend these businesses for joining existing pledge signatories in a shared commitment to support the calorie reduction challenge issued to the nation by ministers last year. Of the 31 pledge signatories, 15 are manufacturers, demonstrating our sector's willingness to engage and deliver improved public health outcomes under the deal."

British Soft Drinks Association director general Gavin Partington said: "We welcome the commitments made by leading soft drinks producers. Our industry has been taking steps to reduce the calorie content of our drinks for many years now, and currently more than 60% of all soft drinks contain no added sugar."

The eight new drink and food manufacturers, supermarket and catering companies to have signed up to the pledge join 23 others including Mars and Tesco.

AG Barr later confirmed it had pledged to reduce calories across its portfolio of drinks but clarified it had no plans to reduce the sugar content of its regular IrnBru product "at this time" because "we do not believe customers would accept this". A spokeswoman said: "We have always recognised that we have a role to play in helping our consumers exercise choice in their calorie consumption. However we can only make a recipe change in one of our products if we are 100% satisfied that the product is absolutely right for our consumers."