Government warned

The food and drink industry has warned Labour its new healthy food red tape will backfire, as manufacturers insist they are already investing millions in making products healthier.

Food and drink manufacturers are racing to prove to the government that they are cutting salt, sugar and calories from their products – as Labour plans to impose new guidelines which producers warn could result in a crackdown on nutritional products.

The government wants to adopt a new nutrient profiling model (NPM) which would expand the number of foods classed as “less healthy” in a bid to tackle child obesity.

But retailers and manufacturers have warned this new model casts its net too wide, and could end up banning foods like smoothies, yoghurts and breakfast cereals from being placed near shop entrances or advertised online.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents the UK’s 1,200 food and drink manufacturers, claims that disruptive new red tape will harm the industry’s ongoing attempts to make healthier products.

The UK’s food and drink industry has slashed sugar, salt and calorie levels in its products by nearly a fifth in five years, according to a new FDF survey of its members.

The country’s best-loved food brands have cut sugar content by 19 per cent, salt by 18 per cent and calories by 17 per cent.

Cereals giant Kellogg’s has cut the total sugars in its All-Bran product by 17 per cent, while FTSE 250-listed Premier Foods recently released its first Mr Kipling cake range which complies with the government’s healthy food guidelines,

The FDF claims the government’s new healthy food rules would put this work – which has cost manufacturers millions of pounds – in “jeopardy”.

The foods that these producers have spent years making compliant with healthy food guidelines could be banned from front-of-shop shelves and from online adverts under the new regulations.

Retailers and manufacturers currently must comply with an NPM dating to 2004-05, but the new model set to be enforced was devised in 2018. 

Food producers previously told City PM that the 2018 NMP is “unworkable” because it is based on incomplete and over-optimistic impact assessments.

On Monday, the FDF’s chief scientific officer Kate Halliwell said: “This latest data shows that tremendous positive progress continues to be made. Now we need government support to take it to the next level. 

“Maintaining a stable regulatory environment will give businesses the confidence they need to keep making investments in the development of healthier products.”

A spokesperson for the department of health and social care said: “We are taking strong action to tackle the obesity crisis as part of our 10 Year Health Plan, which will shift the focus from sickness to prevention. 

“This includes restricting advertising of junk food on TV and online, limiting volume price promotions on less healthy foods and introducing mandatory reporting on sales of healthy food.”

The government is currently consulting on the new NPM, and is set to feed back to the industry later this month.