New plan to slash salt, sugar and fat in processed food

A NATIONAL roadmap to slash the levels of saturated fats, sugar, salt and calories in processed foods and drive down Ireland’s soaring obesity levels has been published.

Food producers are expected to be given three years to make the changes voluntarily or have the new limits forced on them by legislation.

Under the plan, the Government aims to cut salt by 10% in the 76 foods that contribute most to people’s salt intake, such as bacon, tuna, crisps and breakfast foods, and to cut sugar from nine food categories – namely breakfast cereals, yoghurts, biscuits, cakes, ice cream, lollies, chocolate confectionery, sweets and sauces.

In addition, it proposes a 10% reduction in the saturated fat content of the processed foods that the new task force concludes contribute most to saturated fat intake in Ireland, as well as a 20% reduction in calories for certain foods, particularly those that raise children’s calorie intake.

Foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt are over-consumed in Ireland and trigger high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some cancers.

Announcing the launch of the roadmap and associated task force, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: ‘The links between diet and non-communicable diseases are well established, and this is particularly the case in economically disadvantaged areas, where people tend to eat more processed food.

‘The task force, working together with the food industry, will help to combat inequality by improving the quality of the food available.’

Minister of State for Public Health Frank Feighan said: ‘We are living very busy lives and it is not always easy, even with the best of intentions, to eat or buy the healthiest option.

‘This is an important and positive step forward for all of our health and well-being. It will help to improve the nutritional quality of the processed food available to consumers and will have tangible benefits for public health.’

Professor Donal O’Shea, the HSE’s clinical lead on obesity, told the Irish Daily Mail that he expects mandatory changes to be implemented after 2025, when the task force will have finished its consultations with the food industry.

‘The bottom line is that these changes have to start with an attempt at voluntary reform, before regulations are brought in,’ he said. ‘But history suggests that the food industry just moves way too slowly by itself. It is only when you regulate and legislate that the pace of reform increases.

Prof. O’Shea continued: ‘What we are eating and drinking now is the biggest driver of chronic disease in Ireland, between hypertension, cancer and obesity – that’s what is filling up our hospital beds.

‘The biggest change we can make is change at a population level that people do not notice. If, when they are going shopping, the products have less fat, salt and sugar, they are going to be healthier.

‘The trouble for the food industry is that the more salt, sugar and fat products have, the more addictive they are and the more they are consumed.’

Prof. O’Shea said the sugar tax and minimum unit pricing on alcohol were an example of what could be achieved to influence purchasing choices and improve public health through regulation.

Nutritionist Gaye Godkin also believes the reductions will have to be made mandatory before they are embraced by the food industry.

‘What we really need to focus on here is sugar and carbohydrate content. I am not a fan of caloriecounting. A food that markets itself as a low-fat snack can be crammed full of sugar,’ she said.

‘We need to make labelling clearer so everyone can understand what they are eating, because 80% of our lifestyle diseases stem from what we are eating.’

‘The food industry moves too slowly’