Tag Archives: Sugar

Food packaging to be labelled with pictures of teaspoons of salt and sugar

Food packaging to be labelled with pictures of teaspoons of salt and sugar to indicate the content of the food, according to a report from the Department of Health.

Food packaging to be labelled with pictures of teaspoons of salt and sugar

Food packaging to be labelled with pictures of teaspoons of salt and sugar. Food packaging will be labelled to show how many teaspoons of sugar or salt are being added in a move made possible by leaving European Union, the Department of Health has said.

Amid anger at the decision to water down the Government’s obesity strategy, it has now emerged that officials want to use Brexit to allow “visual labelling” on food products such as pictures of teaspoons of sugar.

There are concerns about how difficult it is for consumers to understand the current “traffic light system”, which assigns either a green, amber or red circle to food packaging according the percentage of fat, saturates, sugar and salt.

Under the new plans consumers would simply see images of teaspoons on packaging to denote how healthy or unhealthy a product is.

In a document on the obesity strategy, officials write: “The UK’s decision to leave the European Union will give us greater flexibility to determine what information should be presented on packaged food, and how it should be displayed.

“We want to build on the success of our current labelling scheme, and review additional opportunities to go further and ensure we are using the most effective ways to communicate information to families.

“This might include clearer visual labelling, such as teaspoons of sugar, to show consumers about the sugar content in packaged food and drink.”

Currently EU rules on trade prevent new labelling techniques to give families a clearer idea about the amount of sugar or salt in household products.

One Whitehall source said: “Brexit gives us a chance to think about how we can better inform people about sugar or salt content.”

It is thought that the Government could force food producers to use the “teaspoons” system with new laws.

It came as experts criticised the Government for “watering down” the obesity strategy.

Sugary drinks tax pressures InfinityQS

Drink companies will turn to technology and collaborate with suppliers to combat sugary drinks tax pressures, advises InfinityQS.
Sugary drinks tax

Sugary drinks tax pressures. Packaging firms, raw materials suppliers, and beverage companies will all feel a significant increase in pressure if the proposed sugar tax is enacted, resulting in beverage companies needing to place a greater emphasis on developing new, innovative ways to drive down the costs of its products.

According to Doug Fair, chief operating officer at Statistical Process Control (SPC) software specialist InfinityQS, if this is to be effective, collaboration and transparency across the supply chain and amongst all parties is critical.

The debate surrounding the introduction of a sugar tax on fizzy drinks has gained significant momentum of late. Most recently, the NHS announced that it planned to introduce its own 20 per cent tax on all fizzy drinks sold on NHS properties by 2020.

This was followed up by the British Retail Consortium saying that it would break with the ranks of the food industry by accepting a sugar tax in order to address concerns about obesity, as well as calling for greater legislation around special offers on unhealthy foods.

“The prospect of a tax on fizzy drinks is really gaining momentum and for the drinks industry, the ramifications are going to be huge. Addressing costs of quality, including scrap, rework, and inspections, is going to be critical to this process. An example of this might be reducing overfill – failure to address this is literally pouring money down the drain. It is therefore imperative that firms take definitive actions to improve both efficiencies and operations by implementing an effective quality management system”.