Food companies have slashed salt by a third and sugar and calories by a quarter in a typical basket since 2015, according to new figures from the FDF.
A survey, covering companies which are members of the federation, shows that more than £160m was invested in R&D in 2023 alone towards creating healthier food and drink.
The FDF said the figures, based on Kantar Worldpanel data, showed how serious companies were about reformulation. It called for the government to do more to support the industry to make technical improvements.
They come as the dust settled on Labour’s confirmation last week that it will press ahead with the ban on HFSS advertising before a 9pm watershed on TV, with a total ban online.
The FDF has warned the restrictions will have a huge economic impact on the industry and its ability to invest in healthier products.
Examples of reformulation include Kellogg’s launch of four cereal reformulations in 2023 to create healthier products, which it said took more than two years and involved 300 different recipes, 40 pilot manufacturing trials and 16 large-scale production trials.
More than 30 rounds of sensory and consumer testing were involved before the products were brought to market.
Also in 2023, Birds Eye’s specialist R&D experts developed three new, healthy, veg-rich frozen prepared meals, as part of the brand’s Steamfresh range. Taking over a year to develop, each portion in the range contained one or two of a consumer’s 5 a day.
However, today’s figures contrast to a report on the government’s flagship calories reduction programme in February, which found it had achieved only “limited progress”.
The programme’s scaled-back targets set 10% calorie reductions for retailers and manufacturers for categories including ready meals, breaded and battered food, family meals, chips and potatoes and a 5% reduction target for crisps.
Also based on Kantar figures, the report by the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID) showed many sectors, including family meals and the out-of-home sector, had seen big increases in the amount of calories in food.
However, Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer at the FDF, said smaller companies needed more help from the government to reformulate their products, similar to that seen across other sectors.
The FDF has called for a £4m fund for the government to support SMEs in reformulation, echoing similar moves in Scotland.
“We’re proud to see the continued and significant advances made by our industry to offer healthier options reflected in the UK’s shopping baskets,” said Halliwell.
“The industry, and in particular smaller companies, could do even more with better government support, which is currently only a fraction of what’s available to, for example, investments in the aerospace or automotive manufacturing sectors.
“To take critical investment in healthier product innovation to the next level, we’re calling on government to support the UK’s largest manufacturing industry in boosting further investment in reformulation.
Alan Black, director of food systems transformation at the British Nutrition Foundation, said: “With diet-related disease linked to significant levels of ill health in the UK, we have a responsibility to work together across the food environment to make it better.
“We know that reformulation can help reduce population intakes of nutrients of concern such as free sugars and salt, which could benefit public health outcomes. Increasing positive components in products such as fibre and fruit & vegetables, and targeting portion size, are also promising strategies for improving public health.
“Food manufacturers are well placed to deliver change at scale and the British Nutrition Foundation works with companies from across the sector to support them in making healthier choices easier for consumers.”
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