Australia’s move on sugar in beverages causes stir here

A move to reduce the amount of sugar across Australia’s beverage industry is being welcomed by health and obesity experts and will be considered in New Zealand.

The Australian Beverages Council this week announced its members had committed to reduce sugar across the industry by 20 per cent on average by 2025.

It did not mean the amount of sugar in every product would be reduced but that the amount of sugar across all drinks sold should be lower.

An independent auditor would be appointed and the review would be based on annual sales weighted volume, the Australian council said.

NZ Beverage Council spokesman Stephen Jones said there were no similar plans under way in New Zealand but it was something the council would be talking to members about.

“I think it’s a fantastic initiative by the Australians,” he said. “We’re committed to playing our part in reducing obesity. We’re very open to having local discussions with our members over the coming weeks.”

More than 1.3 million Kiwis are obese, making New Zealand the thirdfattest country in the OECD.

A Coca-Cola NZ spokeswoman said the company would be open to discussing industry-wide goals but already had its own target of reducing sugar across its range by 10 per cent by 2020. Health Minister Dr David Clark agreed sugar levels needed to be reduced and he had met with the industry to set out a clear expectation they needed to work with the Government on the issue.

“We want to give the industry the chance to step up and make positive change, rather than immediately jump to regulate,” he said.

Fighting Sugar in Soft Drinks (FIZZ) founder Dr Gerhard Sundborn was also supportive of the move across the Tasman and said he would welcome its introduction here. But he said self-regulation was never done as well as it could be so he would be watching how it was rolled out.

University of Auckland Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health Boyd Swinburn was sceptical of the Australian target.

“The potential for smoke, mirrors, charades and delays is enormous when the industry sets its own exam and then marks it,” he said.