Would more labelling really help us eat less sugar?

The much-debated issue of nutritional labelling has been plunged into the spotlight yet again, with health experts calling for restrictions on child-friendly packaging and the addition of nutritional claims on yoghurts which are high in sugar.

Research from Queen Mary University of London found that only one in 20 yoghurts aimed at children were rated low in sugar, with the biggest offender being Nestle’s Rolo Mix-in Toffee yogurt, which contains five and a half teaspoons of sugar per serving.

The study found that 63 per cent of 100 children’s yoghurts, which featured cartoon animations, characters and child-friendly designs on the packaging, contained a third or more of the maximum daily intake for added sugars (19g) per serving for a child aged between four to six.

Dr Kawther Hashem, a registered nutrionist and campaign lead at Action on Sugar, warned that parents can be easily misled when choosing products because companies “try to avert our eyes” from the nutritional content by using “healthy-sounding claims and cartoony images” on the packaging.

“Given only five per cent of yoghurts with child-friendly packaging would have a green-coloured label as being ‘healthy’ for sugar, food companies must make every effort to reduce the sugar in these products, particularly the ones targeted so explicitly towards children.”

The UK has had a voluntary front of pack labelling (FOPL) system in place since 2013, which combined “traffic light” labels, nutritional content per 100g and information to highlight levels of calories, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt.

An estimated two-thirds of food and drink products displayed FOPL in 2016, according to data from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and more than 80 per cent of people use the information to make decisions about what they buy and consume.

But Mhairi Brown, policy and public affairs coordinator for Action on Salt and Action on Sugar, wrote in the New Food Magazine that the current labelling does not list added sugars, adding that “there is still scope to ensure FOPL is as useful to consumers as possible”.

The new recommendations on sugar labelling comes after the publication of a report by the National Food Strategy last month, which revealed that poor diets contribute to around 64,000 deaths every year in England and £18bn is spent every year treating health conditions related to obesity.

The government-commissioned report, led by British businessman Henry Dimbleby, called for a sugar and salt reformulation tax as a key part of efforts to transform the diets of Britons.

But it noted that the government’s attempts to change diets has so far relied too heavily on “interventions”, including “labelling, leaflets and marketing campaigns”.

These methods “require individuals to make a conscious effort to change their behaviour”, but are “unrealistic” in their expectations for consumers to make the shift “solely through the power of individual willpower”.

Despite this pessimism, the government and other players in the food industry have emphasised the importance of improving the food labelling system in getting Britain to a healthier place – particularly with the introduction of prime minister Boris Johnson’s national obesity strategy last year.

A new raft of measures was announced as part of the government’s “Better Health” campaign, which was fuelled by evidence linking excess weight to greater risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19. Johnson, who himself was overweight when he contracted Covid, spent a week in St Thomas’ hospital with three of those days spent in intensive care.

The measures included a ban on TV and online adverts for junk food before 9pm, and the displaying of calories on menus to “help people make healthier choices when eating out”.

But the researchers at Action on Sugar urged the government to take further action to ensure food companies are not pulling the wool over consumer’s eyes when it comes to sugar content in their products.

Katharine Jenner, campaign director at Action on Sugar, added: “Clever marketing techniques such as advertising, promotions and packaging are powerful tools to get children hooked on the sweet stuff from a young age and for life.

“Whilst the Government’s Obesity Strategy is taking bold steps to tackle unhealthy advertising and promotions, they now need to ensure food companies only use cartoons and health halo statements on their healthier products, allowing parents to see more of what is good for their children.”

In July, the government set out plans under the “Health and Care Bill” to introduce powers that would enable ministers to introduce new food and drink labelling as part of measures to tackle obesity.

The policy paper read: “As a nation, we are eating and drinking too many calories. Many adults are consuming 200 to 300 extra calories a day and children who are already overweight or living with obesity are consuming up to 500 calories extra.

“We need to make it easier for people to make informed choices about what they eat, and clear, transparent food labelling has an important role to play.”

Additional reporting by PA