The industry is responding to the health lobby by reformulating products, but will this placate critics? Sean McAllister reports
Judging by the barrage of initiatives that have flooded out of some of the biggest producers in the last seven days, the industry has finally decided it’s had enough of the healthy eating lobby’s relentless criticism. It’s time to fight back.
The first to seize the mantle was Birds Eye. Last week the frozen food giant announced all it products were now free from artificial colours, flavourings and preservatives and many had lower salt and fat levels following a £4m range overhaul.
Next up was Heinz. It reduced salt by 15% in its standard Baked Beans (amounting to a 30% reduction over the past two years), introduced clearer labelling, and launched a new Reduced Sugar & Salt sub-brand containing 70% less salt and 25% less sugar than standard beans.
Others planning to reduce salt include Kraft, which will relaunch kids’ favourite Dairylea Lunchables with 10% less salt later this year. Oriental Express Frozen Foods is briefing its raw materials suppliers to help reduce salt in its products. And Quaker has relaunched Spudz as Snack-a-Jacks Mini Bites with 50% less salt (see p59).
But is this just a kneejerk reaction from the food industry or a genuine effort to improve the nutritional profile of our food?
Scott Garrett, brand director for Heinz UK & Ireland, says its decision to reformulate its baked beans was not based on haste. “Heinz Baked Beans is not a product that you change lightly,” he says.
Food Commission spokesman Ian Tokelove says such initiatives are a move in the right direction for the industry. But he believes all suppliers will have to adopt similar initiatives for it to have any real effect in taking the debate forward.
“Consumers naturally prefer sweet, salty and fatty tastes - that’s why products became more salty and sugary in the first place,” he says. “So unless all manufacturers reduce these levels there is a danger that consumers will switch to unhealthy options that better suit their palate.”
Taste is an important factor. Birds Eye says it has received a number of complaints about its Beef Stew & Dumpling ready meals since salt levels were reduced.
But Garrett believes big brands such as Heinz can change consumer tastes over time. “We are the taste of baked beans,” says Garrett. “And if we alter the taste of Heinz Baked Beans, we change the taste of baked beans by definition.”
Meanwhile, the big brands are quickly redesigning labelling to make the nutritional profile of their products more transparent.
In a move that Kellogg’s European corporate communications director, Chris Wermann, describes as a more pragmatic and sensible approach than the traffic light system of labelling, Kellogg plans to introduce a new health and wellbeing back-of-pack panel (covering one-third of the space) on its kids’ and family cereals. The new labelling will tell consumers how much a serving of its cereals contributes to the guideline daily amounts of carbohydrates, sugars, salt and fat.
Sue Davies, principal policy advisor of the Consumers’ Association, welcomes all these moves, but calls for still more action.
She wants suppliers to look at ways of reducing fat and sugar at the same time as investigating means of reducing salt. She would also like to see more consistent labelling rather than a raft of labelling initiatives from the big brands, which, she says, makes product comparisons difficult.
She believes clearer labelling to highlight salt, sugar and fat content is not enough. In the long run, she wants products reformulated to reduce their presence.
It’s clear manufacturers are going to have to work even harder to convince the sceptics that the industry can be part of the solution to the crisis and not the problem.
But the industry will always remain an easy target for those looking for a scapegoat. Will it ever be possible to appease the health lobby?
Judging by the barrage of initiatives that have flooded out of some of the biggest producers in the last seven days, the industry has finally decided it’s had enough of the healthy eating lobby’s relentless criticism. It’s time to fight back.
The first to seize the mantle was Birds Eye. Last week the frozen food giant announced all it products were now free from artificial colours, flavourings and preservatives and many had lower salt and fat levels following a £4m range overhaul.
Next up was Heinz. It reduced salt by 15% in its standard Baked Beans (amounting to a 30% reduction over the past two years), introduced clearer labelling, and launched a new Reduced Sugar & Salt sub-brand containing 70% less salt and 25% less sugar than standard beans.
Others planning to reduce salt include Kraft, which will relaunch kids’ favourite Dairylea Lunchables with 10% less salt later this year. Oriental Express Frozen Foods is briefing its raw materials suppliers to help reduce salt in its products. And Quaker has relaunched Spudz as Snack-a-Jacks Mini Bites with 50% less salt (see p59).
But is this just a kneejerk reaction from the food industry or a genuine effort to improve the nutritional profile of our food?
Scott Garrett, brand director for Heinz UK & Ireland, says its decision to reformulate its baked beans was not based on haste. “Heinz Baked Beans is not a product that you change lightly,” he says.
Food Commission spokesman Ian Tokelove says such initiatives are a move in the right direction for the industry. But he believes all suppliers will have to adopt similar initiatives for it to have any real effect in taking the debate forward.
“Consumers naturally prefer sweet, salty and fatty tastes - that’s why products became more salty and sugary in the first place,” he says. “So unless all manufacturers reduce these levels there is a danger that consumers will switch to unhealthy options that better suit their palate.”
Taste is an important factor. Birds Eye says it has received a number of complaints about its Beef Stew & Dumpling ready meals since salt levels were reduced.
But Garrett believes big brands such as Heinz can change consumer tastes over time. “We are the taste of baked beans,” says Garrett. “And if we alter the taste of Heinz Baked Beans, we change the taste of baked beans by definition.”
Meanwhile, the big brands are quickly redesigning labelling to make the nutritional profile of their products more transparent.
In a move that Kellogg’s European corporate communications director, Chris Wermann, describes as a more pragmatic and sensible approach than the traffic light system of labelling, Kellogg plans to introduce a new health and wellbeing back-of-pack panel (covering one-third of the space) on its kids’ and family cereals. The new labelling will tell consumers how much a serving of its cereals contributes to the guideline daily amounts of carbohydrates, sugars, salt and fat.
Sue Davies, principal policy advisor of the Consumers’ Association, welcomes all these moves, but calls for still more action.
She wants suppliers to look at ways of reducing fat and sugar at the same time as investigating means of reducing salt. She would also like to see more consistent labelling rather than a raft of labelling initiatives from the big brands, which, she says, makes product comparisons difficult.
She believes clearer labelling to highlight salt, sugar and fat content is not enough. In the long run, she wants products reformulated to reduce their presence.
It’s clear manufacturers are going to have to work even harder to convince the sceptics that the industry can be part of the solution to the crisis and not the problem.
But the industry will always remain an easy target for those looking for a scapegoat. Will it ever be possible to appease the health lobby?
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