Reducing salt and sugar consumption – is it the retailers responsibility?

With new HFSS (‘High Fat, Salt and Sugar’) advertising restrictions coming in to force in the UK, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is working with retailers on ‘Food Reformulation.’ As the EU Campaign to reduce Salt and Sugar consumption steps up, FSAI is hoping retailers can help tackle the issue.

The EU and various individual EU countries aim to monitor how food manufacturers and retailers are responding to World Health Organisation calls to reduce the amount of salt and sugar in popular foods and beverages.

The FSAI is asking Irish food retailers to agree to voluntarily share data on food reformulation activities and on sales to assess the consumption of salt and sugar in Ireland. “This is currently a voluntary choice if retailers want to participate but the clear indication is that the EU may take regulatory action if the levels of salt and sugar remain high in certain foodstuffs and if consumption of salt and sugar and levels of obesity continue to rise,” said RGDATA’s Tara Buckley.