Dear Simon,
Following your appearance on the Andrew Marr Show and your interview in The Times yesterday I wanted to register some concerns about some of your comments.
You are right to encourage all parties, including the food industry, to play an active role in tackling obesity. However, we believe obesity is a complex problem which cannot be reduced to the demonisation of one ingredient, nor can it be right that an everyday ingredient such as sugar is characterised as a poison.
We welcome the Prime Minister's commitment that all parties should have an active role in tackling the problem. For many years, FDF members have taken a responsible, proactive and collaborative approach to public health. We are fully committed to working with government to ensure that industry is part of the solution. There is no simple answer to the complex problems of obesity; a healthy lifestyle must include both a balanced diet and physical activity. We were proud to be a founding signatory of the Responsibility Deal and believe working in partnership has led to the quickest, and most effective, results.
As you acknowledge, a world-leading salt reduction programme is at the forefront of these achievements, having helped reduce population intakes by 15 per cent. We have also worked on increasing fibre, micronutrients, fruit and vegetable content in recipes and have virtually eliminated artificial trans fats in products. We have led the world for well over a decade in providing nutrition information on pack and in developing responsible marketing practices, partly captured in the EU Pledge on Responsible Marketing.
We have reduced calories through recipe reformulations, including sugar and saturated fat reductions, to iconic products and changed portion sizes. In particular, through the use of low calorie sweeteners, significant reformulations have been made in carbonated beverages, dairy desserts and yoghurt, confectionery and table-top sweeteners.
The food and drink industry employs around 400,000 people. It contributes £22 billion to our economy and through the taxes paid by employees and companies, plays a major part in funding the NHS. We use our world-leading technology and highly skilled employees to innovate, rising to the challenge of making healthy food more pleasurable and of making pleasurable food healthier. We self-fund three quarters of the sector's research and development and the work we carry out in the UK creates new products and ideas which are exported around the world.
We support evidence and science-based solutions in tackling the obesity challenge. Indeed when it comes to taking action on health, companies rely on Government guidance to ensure they are focusing their energies and investment in work which will bring about positive change for consumer health. This is why it is so important to us that the science is used accurately, and not casually overstated. That will only confuse the consumer. It is clear that excessive consumption of sugar can lead to overconsumption of calories and to weight gain.
We are very open to discussions on how the industry can best contribute to improve public health I would welcome the opportunity to meet you and discuss the industry's achievements and how we can continue the process of collaboration in improving public health.
Yours sincerely,
Ian Wright
Director General, Food and Drink Federation
