The
country’s biggest supermarkets, food manufacturers, caterers and
food outlets are joining forces to help cut five billion
calories from the nation’s daily diet, the Health Secretary
Andrew Lansley announced today
Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco,
Waitrose, Coca-Cola Great Britain, Kerry Foods, Kraft, Mars,
Nestle, PepsiCo, Premier Foods, Unilever, Beefeater (Whitbread),
Subway and contract caterer Compass have all joined the fight
against obesity and are leading the way in signing up to the
Responsibility Deal’s calorie reduction pledge.
England has one of the highest rates of obesity in Europe and
some of the highest rates in the developed world. Over 60 per cent
of adults and a third of 10 and 11 year olds are overweight or
obese. Consuming too many calories is at the heart of the problem.
Making commitments today to cut and cap calories are some of the
world’s biggest food and drink manufacturers and best known
brands. More than three-quarters of the retail market has signed
up. In addition, among the first signatories are some of the top
caterers providing meals in thousands of out of home settings,
including Subway’s 1,423 stores - ranked number two by total meals
sold. The impact of these commitments will help millions of people
eat and drink fewer calories.
The following examples highlight some of the initiatives being
taken, which include companies actively promoting and
incentivising customers to choose lower calorie options. For many
these examples are just one part of a wider calorie reduction strategy.
The commitments include:
Asda will develop a new reduced calorie brand across a wide
range of products that will contain at least 30 per cent fewer
calories than their core Chosen by you brand;Coca-Cola Great
Britain will reduce the calories in some of its soft drinks brands
by at least 30 per cent by 2014;Mars will cap the calories of
their chocolate items to 250 calories per portion by the end of
2013;Morrisons will launch a range of healthier products developed
by their chefs and nutritionists. More than 300 lines will be
introduced, including low calorie and high fibre offerings. Key to
this range will be an easy to read and understand labelling
system;Premier Foods, manufacturers of brands including Ambrosia,
Batchelors, Hovis, Loyd Grossman, Mr.Kipling, and Sharwood’s, will
reduce calories in one third of their sales by the end of 2014 and
at least 30 per cent of new products will be lower calorie
choices; The Subway brand has committed to offer five out of their
nine Low Fat Range Subs, each with fewer than 370 calories, as
part of their £3 lunch offer; andTesco is on track to remove 1.8
billion calories from its soft drinks, will expand its Eat, Live
and Enjoy range of low-calorie meals and is making it easier for
shoppers to spot low-calorie options through its "Green
Ping" labels.
Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley said:
“Eating and drinking too many calories is at the heart of the
nation’s obesity problem.
“We all have a role to play – from individuals to public, private
and non-governmental organisations – if we are going to cut five
billion calories from our national diet. It is an ambitious
challenge but the Responsibility Deal has made a great start.
“This pledge is just the start of what must be a bigger, broader
commitment from the food industry. But it is a great step in the
right direction and will help million of us eat and drink fewer calories.”
Chair of the Responsibility Deal Food Network Dr
Susan Jebb said:
“I am delighted that these first companies are leading the way on
this calorie reduction programme which is vital to tackle obesity
and improve public health. This is a very encouraging start
displaying some creative and varied ways to encourage behaviour
change.
“I am impatient to make progress, but it will take time to change
the eating habits of the nation. This is a marathon not a sprint
and we all have to commit to support this programme of work for
years to come. I know some other companies are already developing
their plans but we need everyone, all companies - from all sectors
and all sizes - to step up and act for the good of the nation’s health.”
British Retail Consortium Food Director, Andrew
Opie, said:
“Responsible retailers are dedicated to helping people make
healthier choices. The new commitments on calorie reduction
complement other work retailers are doing in areas such as calorie
information, salt reduction and alcohol units. The next phase must
be to consolidate the excellent foundation which so many
businesses have helped to put in place.”
FDF Director General, Melanie Leech said:
“Recognising the importance of the government’s Call to Action on
Obesity in England, FDF has been working constructively alongside
other stakeholders through the Public Health Responsibility Deal
to develop a calorie reduction pledge. We welcome the approach of
a menu of options, which should allow as many companies as
possible to support improved public health whilst continuing to
make a major contribution to the UK’s economic recovery. A number
of FDF companies are making immediate commitments to support the
calorie reduction pledge and we would expect other companies from
right across the food and drink industry to join them over the
next few months."
END
Notes to Editors
1. For further media enquiries please contact
the Department of Health newsdesk on 020 7210 5221.
2. Calorie Reduction Pledge wording:
Recognising that the Call to Action on Obesity in England set out
the importance of action on obesity, and issued a challenge to the
population to reduce its total calorie consumption by 5 billion
calories (kcal) a day.
We will support and enable our customers to eat and drink fewer
calories through actions such as product / menu reformulation,
reviewing portion sizes, education and information, and actions to
shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. We will
monitor and report on our actions on an annual basis.
3. Other initiatives include:
Beefeater Grill (Whitbread) will promote 20 per cent of their
menu with calorie capped meals, and continue to reduce calories
year on year in their top selling lines;Compass Group UK will over
the next 18 months reformulate their standard recipes to decrease
energy density and subsequently remove up to 10 per cent of
calories from these recipes;Kerry Foods will deliver activity in a
number of different ways, including reducing energy density;Kraft
will introduce resealable packaging on many of our chocolate
brands, including Cadbury's Dairy Milk;M&S will
continue to grow its range of calorie controlled options across
prepared meals, desserts, sandwiches and snacks, which are
designed to help customers reduce their intake of calories;Nestlé
will continue its programme of product reformulation and increase
its support for education and training programmes in schools,
colleges and at the workplace, to teach the basic principles of
health and nutrition, including calorie management;PepsiCo UK will
introduce a calorie cap of 160 Calories across single serve
savoury snacks without significant positive nutrition, by
2015;Sainsbury's have publicly committed to reduce sugar,
fat, saturated fat and salt in own brand products;Unilever UK is
already reducing calories; recently it conducted reformulation
within its spreads portfolio, significantly reducing the number of
calories and the amount of saturated fat. It will complement this
with further reformulation and consumer information; and Waitrose
will build on the work it has already done to reduce calories with
no compromise on taste or quality. It will continue to make
calorie reductions in a variety of ways, including reviewing
energy density, and will continue to encourage a balanced diet and
exercise.
4. For further details of the pledge and the
companies signed up visit: http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/our-partners/
5. Delivery plans: the companies announced
today are the first to sign up and make early commitments to the
Public Health Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge. They
now have six weeks to formally submit their delivery plans and
these will be issued on the Responsibility Deal website.
6. Monitoring: in line with the standard
practice of the Responsibility Deal, companies making commitments
will be asked to provide delivery plans and annual updates on
their progress. The Department will also use nationally available
data to assess overall progress against the calorie reduction
challenge.
7. The Obesity Call to Action can be found on
the Department of Health’s website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_130401
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk