Responding to the Department of Health and Social Care’s response to an update to the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) earlier this week, the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) has responded with a warning for the industry.
Its director general, Andy Bagnall, said: “The soft drinks sector is playing its part in tackling the complex problem of obesity. But introducing the new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) could lead to significant unintended consequences, undermining the drive to improve the nation’s health.”
The proposed NPM would classify fruit juice as unhealthy on the basis of naturally occurring sugars, which the BSDA says would be counter-intuitive and sends mixed messages to consumers when so many already struggle to get their 5 A Day - with only 6% of children growing up in low-income households meeting the target
It adds that soft drink producers have already invested hundreds of millions in product reformulation to meet consumer demand and comply with existing HFSS advertising regulation.
In addition, it warns that if these manufacturers were to narrow the gap between zero-sugar and diet drinks - in line with the new NPM - consumer demand “may severely dwindle, rendering them commercially unviable.”
“Extending the range of products captured by the model to include fruit juice, which has widely recognised health benefits, sends mixed messages – especially when more than nine out of ten 11-18-year-olds fail to meet the target of 5 A Day, which a 150ml serving of fruit juice counts towards,” Bagnall added.
“Changing the model will also undermine the extensive investment in reformulation to reduce sugar by the wider soft drinks industry over the last decade. Classifying many lower-sugar drinks as ‘less healthy’ and risking them being delisted as a result, would make it harder for people to make sensible choices about their diet.
“It’s essential the Government now engages with soft drinks manufacturers and the wider food industry to ensure application of the new model avoids these negative impacts.”
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