Political pressure for the hasty removal of ingredients such as fat, sugar and salt from food could result in more damage than good to the nation’s health, a forum to discuss the Public Health White Paper has heard.
Dr Reg Wilson, head of food materials at the Institute of Food Research, said government and health groups should not underestimate the difficulty in reformulating foods.
“It is not just a simple fact of removing ingredients. Re-composition of foods changes the availability of nutrients and the digestibility of food in the gut,” he told delegates at the Westminster Diet & Health Forum seminar, run in association with The Grocer.
When asked whether the pressure for change could cause more problems, Wilson said there was “some scope” for agreement with this “if you rush in too quickly and don’t understand the complexity of the problem you are dealing with”. He added: “There is a gap
between the fundamental science and delivery.
“Such changes will not necessarily have the overall health impact expected. For example, if consumers didn’t store reformulated products differently, they could be subjecting themselves to illness.”
He said suppliers would already mainly be supplying low-calorie, low-fat/sugar/salt products if it were easy to do. “People say doing this cannot be rocket science but it is a damn sight more difficult.
“We put a man on the moon 30 years ago but haven’t solved this issue.”
Food and Drink Federation director general Sylvia Jay said the organisation had written to the Food Standards Agency to ask it to ensure it monitored food safety at the same time as looking at reformulation.
The Institute of Food Research is helping the industry design new products rationally to address the issue, said Wilson, who emphasised that it was no good changing foods if consumers would not buy them.
“We need to understand how to reformulate foods and keep acceptable quality and texture. We are looking at barriers and coatings that give the same feeling in the mouth without the calories,” he said.
But he warned it was essential to consider satiety. “You have got to check people don’t just buy twice the amount if portion sizes are smaller.”
Siân Harrington
Dr Reg Wilson, head of food materials at the Institute of Food Research, said government and health groups should not underestimate the difficulty in reformulating foods.
“It is not just a simple fact of removing ingredients. Re-composition of foods changes the availability of nutrients and the digestibility of food in the gut,” he told delegates at the Westminster Diet & Health Forum seminar, run in association with The Grocer.
When asked whether the pressure for change could cause more problems, Wilson said there was “some scope” for agreement with this “if you rush in too quickly and don’t understand the complexity of the problem you are dealing with”. He added: “There is a gap
between the fundamental science and delivery.
“Such changes will not necessarily have the overall health impact expected. For example, if consumers didn’t store reformulated products differently, they could be subjecting themselves to illness.”
He said suppliers would already mainly be supplying low-calorie, low-fat/sugar/salt products if it were easy to do. “People say doing this cannot be rocket science but it is a damn sight more difficult.
“We put a man on the moon 30 years ago but haven’t solved this issue.”
Food and Drink Federation director general Sylvia Jay said the organisation had written to the Food Standards Agency to ask it to ensure it monitored food safety at the same time as looking at reformulation.
The Institute of Food Research is helping the industry design new products rationally to address the issue, said Wilson, who emphasised that it was no good changing foods if consumers would not buy them.
“We need to understand how to reformulate foods and keep acceptable quality and texture. We are looking at barriers and coatings that give the same feeling in the mouth without the calories,” he said.
But he warned it was essential to consider satiety. “You have got to check people don’t just buy twice the amount if portion sizes are smaller.”
Siân Harrington
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