FEEDING CHANGE Foreword Current UK Health Landscape Ian Wright CBE, Kate Halliwell, It is widely agreed that eating a balanced diet where necessary is an important role the food industry can Chief Executive Head of UK Diet and being physically active is the best recipe for play. But a balanced diet means more than just calories, and staying healthy. Despite this, many of us are not it’s not all about cutting back on certain foods. Most people do not eat enough fibre and yet there is strong evidence that The UK is very proud of its & Health Policy getting enough exercise and consuming too many diets full of fibre lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 food and drink. UK consumers Health and nutrition sits at the calories, whilst not eating enough of certain foods diabetes and some cancers. Similarly, most people do not eat have access today to a wider heart of our members’ work. particularly those that are fibre-rich, including enough fruit and vegetables which not only give us fibre, but range of safe, high-quality and At a time when one in three fruits and vegetables. are also important for a range of nutrients. Oily fish is another nutritious food and drink - at all children are leaving primary food that brings lots of health benefits but as a nation we eat price points - than ever before. school overweight or obese, Obesity in the UK is a major problem. More than a quarter very little of. Food and drink is the UK’s industry’s ground-breaking of adults are obese. In children, one in five entering primary largest manufacturing work to tackle this issue is school and one in three starting secondary school are Food and drink manufacturers are proud of the food we make sector, providing jobs for more important than ever. overweight or obese. The health implications associated with and our track record of anticipating consumer trends and being overweight or obese are numerous; type 2 diabetes, meeting consumers’ needs. We know we have a responsibility some 400,000 people and For over 20 years, long coronary heart disease, and cancer. to help people achieve a balanced diet. We provide healthy contributing nearly £25 billion before the introduction of options which people want to eat but are also convenient and to the UK economy each year. Government initiatives such as There is also a strong link between poverty and weight. For can fit into today’s lifestyles, as well as reformulating products the Soft Drinks Industry Levy example, children in the most deprived communities are twice Innovation, whether to and ensuring appropriate portions. We will continue to play and the Sugars Reduction Programme, companies have as likely to be obese compared to those in the most affluent. enhance productivity, safety, choice, flavour, quality or our part, but we cannot solve the nation’s health issues alone been working hard to improve the nation’s health. Large This means that alongside population based interventions, nutrition, is central to what we do. Many of the world’s and call on Government to ensure a genuinely holistic obesity amounts of salt and, more recently, sugars and saturated such as the reformulation of household foods, there is a food companies choose to conduct their research and strategy is introduced and delivered, beyond interventions fat have been removed from the national diet thanks to need for targeted interventions to improve health in these development here in the UK. aimed at food companies. voluntary action from the industry. We recognise more needs communities and decrease social inequalities. Moreover, food and drink is also part of our vital national to be done, and our commitment remains strong. infrastructure. If you can’t feed the country then, pretty soon, The number of calories we eat is clearly critical in helping to you don’t have a country. Today’s complex, inter-dependent Many ingredients in a food perform a wide range of solve the obesity crisis, and helping people reduce their intake supply chains and just-in-time working patterns mean that functions, which vary depending on the product and go our supply of food is potentially fragile. well beyond adding flavour, providing texture and extending shelf-life. Sugars, for example, play multiple roles in food – Food and drink are not just commodities. They are deeply providing the colour and rise in cake, and helping keep ice embedded in our history and our culture. Our relationship cream soft by lowering the freezing point. To reformulate with food and drink goes way beyond its intrinsic nutritional successfully often means overcoming complex technical value; eating and drinking and the occasions that surround difficulties, which is both time and resource heavy. them are part of what defines us. FDF were pleased in 2017 when PHE’s focus moved onto It is partly for this reason that the UK’s obesity challenge is so calories – we have long called for a whole diet approach to intractable. It has been clear for some time that too many of us, tackling obesity. Focusing on the role of individual nutrients on average, consume too many calories. Rates of obesity for or ingredients does not help consumers to build a realistic both adults and children are much too high – and particularly so approach to their diet, lifestyle or general health. among those in the lowest socio-economic groups. In this report, we aim to provide a snapshot of the great Food and drink manufacturers have for many years been work FDF members have done to improve the nation’s diet active participants in the fight against obesity. We will be for using methods such as: reformulating products, ensuring many years to come. It cannot be solved without us; though appropriate portion sizes, innovating to provide healthier we cannot solve it alone. options, adjusting marketing mix, and supporting people The pace of this work is accelerating. It can be seen on to be physically active. This is alongside providing clear every supermarket shelf whether by way of reformulation – nutrition labelling and ingredient lists on packs to help people changing the recipes of products – or in changing to more make informed choices. appropriate portion sizes. Marketing mix is also important FDF and its members recognise the role they play in tackling as consumers are encouraged to consider healthier choices obesity, but we cannot do it alone. Through continued and innovation to increase the range of options available. collaboration with Governments across the UK and other This report summarises our continuing commitment to diet industry stakeholders, we are committed to being part of the and health policy issues. It sets out examples of the great solution and to improving the nation’s diet. work that is going on in that field in countries across the UK. It is a record of real achievement and one of which we are all enormously proud. 2 FDF HEALTH & WELLBEING REPORT 3 RECIPE CONSIDERATIONS: Reformulation aim/s Nutrition information and allergens Legal constraints 2 How product compares to others in market Government policy and/or targets FEASIBILITY Cost implications 1 Assess opportunities New ingredients – are they approved? to introduce product Portion size changes for health START PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS: with the Ingredient functionality i.e. what you need to replicate original product Impact on shelf-life/safety/consumer acceptability New ingredients, technologies or supply chain changes Whether the new recipe will work in existing machines e.g. is it thicker? Will it set at the right temperature? 3 Cost implications if new machinery is needed BRIEF Impact on packaging Design product brief Monitor food safety, shelf-life and sensory characteristics CHANGING S Get feedback via professional and consumer testing on E.g. Brand N ingredient list changes and sensory characteristics: taste, strategies; O I colour, smell, shape and appearance RECIPES FOR labelling including T claims; customer A Plant trials checklist: C acceptance and I Time needed in factory HEALTH feedback; and N Impact on line efficiencies launch activities U M Necessary plant changes A Producer’s M Testing: Shelf-life, consumer, nutritional, micro-testing and M O AR C food safety testing via HACCP* Reformulation Journey KETING & 4 Cooking and preparation instructions DEVELOPMENT Brand and business approval Trial recipe changes *Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point in a development kitchen 6 In order to make a reduced fat/sugar/calorie claim, Monitor customer a product must contain at least 30% less fat/ and consumer FINISH sugar/calories compared to similar products on response to the Take the new 5 the market new product product to market FACTORY Multi-discipline reformulation Even seemingly minor reformulation changes TRIALS teams often involve require shelf life testing to ensure that food safety development chefs, nutritionists, Establish how to make and quality aren’t compromised engineers, technical experts, the new product at Reducing the amount of sugar and fat in a scale and implement suppliers and marketeers, but changes always the consumer. product, substituting ingredients and/or changing portion sizes can all have an impact on a product’s cooking instructions ‘Did You Know’ Insights provided by: Reformulation Graphic update_2017.indd 1 23/04/2018 11:15 Reformulation PRINCES KERRY TASTE & NUTRITION Expert View: Leatherhead Food Research In 2015, Princes completed a project to reformulate its range of Jucee squash to 100% no added sugar. The entire Kerry uses their deep understanding of taste and nutrition From surveying our consumer panels, we know that a healthy diet is range of Jucee soft drinks is now free of any added sugar. to provide solutions in the development and reformulation Less than 0.5% of Princes’ annual branded sales volume becoming increasingly important to people.