The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has revealed that its members’ products have reduced salt content by 18%, sugar content by 19% and calories by 17% over the last five years.
The data, which was compared to 2021, found that on average, branded food and drink had become healthier, and since 2021, the NPM score of FDF members’ products has improved by 13%. The Government’s NPM – Nutrient Profiling Model – gives every food or drink a score, with a lower score indicating a “healthier product”.
FDF’s ‘Shaping a Healthier Future‘ report claimed that the progress was the result of “decades of innovation and investment” from manufacturers developing healthier options for shoppers.
It said that as well as providing a range of healthy staples that support balanced diets, from tinned and frozen vegetables to oats and grains, food manufacturers had invested millions in developing new products, and adapting existing recipes to reduce salt, sugar and calories and add portions of fruit, vegetables and fibre.
Manufacturers reduce sugars in products
The research found that since 2024, Kellogg’s has cut the total sugars in its All-Bran cereal by 17%. The cereal is fortified with vitamins and iron and claims to provide one-third of daily fibre requirements.
Danone UK and Ireland has reduced sugar across its Core and Triple Action Actimel ranges by 9%, and all Actimel products now contain less than 10g sugar per 100g. As well as this, Premier Foods has launched a Mr Kipling Delicious & Light range, producing a range of cakes to meet Government’s healthier eating guidelines.
Research from Nesta, the research and innovation foundation, showed that making simple swaps to healthier alternatives could halve obesity rates in the UK in five years.
Government proposes change to NPM rules
FDF said that despite this “demonstratable progress”, the Government is proposing to change the rules, which it said will put “much of this work at jeopardy”. According to FDF, Government wants to change the NPM to prevent these healthier products from being able to be advertised to shoppers, which it said risks these products being taken off shop shelves. The body said this would reduce the range of healthier alternatives available to shoppers.
FDF is calling on Government to pause plans to change the NPM, and instead bring forward at pace other proposals to make reporting of healthier food sales data mandatory across the food sector. This would require companies to publish standardised, consistent data, creating a transparent way of measuring progress towards healthier diets across companies and sales.
FDF called this a “novel, world-first approach”, which industry reportedly agrees will continue to incentivise companies to develop more, healthier options for shoppers while also supporting Government efforts to evaluate health policies more effectively. It claimed that the scheme should be extended to hospitality venues too.
Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer at The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said: “Food and drink manufacturers are committed to supporting consumers make healthier choices which will help improve diets. They’ve invested hundreds of millions of pounds over many years in changing products that shoppers know and love to make them healthier as well as appealing to shoppers. And 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. The UK is already a world leader in healthier product innovation, and bringing in mandatory reporting on healthier food sales would help to incentivise businesses of all sizes to go further, and build momentum on supporting healthier diets.”
