Do yogurts and sodas have to be heavily sweetened? Ingredients should be changed for a healthier diet – this is what manufacturers have assured politicians. There is a new evaluation for this.
Quark dishes, mueslis, lemonades: According to an evaluation for the federal government, the desired reduction in sugar, fat and salt is not making enough progress for many ready-made products from the supermarket. The results showed that previous changes to the recipes were not yet sufficient to support a balanced diet to the required extent, according to a report presented on Thursday by the federal Max Rubner Institute. Food Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) made it clear that manufacturers had to step up their game. Consumer advocates called for significantly further measures.
The progress of a strategy that the previous government launched in 2018 has now been officially reviewed again. Afterwards, several industries committed themselves on a voluntary basis to reduction targets for sugar, fat and salt by 2025. In order to observe the commitments to changes in the ingredients, the institute is carrying out monitoring and, after the first interim report in 2020, has now presented a second one.
Efforts made so far are not enough
The main result: sugar, fat and salt contents have been reduced in some product groups. However, the data also made it clear that reduction efforts “have partially weakened or come to a standstill in recent years.” For some products there are even increases in the nutrient content. Despite reductions in some cases, products with children’s motifs on the packaging often still have high sugar contents – and sometimes also more energy, sugar and fat than comparable products without children’s optics.
Özdemir said: “A good and balanced diet becomes difficult when processed foods contain a lot of sugar, salt or fat.” Unfortunately, the new interim report makes it clear that the previous reformulations were not sufficient. The institute was therefore commissioned to develop scientifically based reduction targets. On this objective basis, the ministry will demand further changes to recipes from the economy.
Take dairy products, for example: “A continuous reduction in sugar” is visible in yoghurt preparations – by six percent compared to the first interim balance, according to the report. “In contrast, there has been no statistically significant change in sweetened quark preparations since 2019.” The sugar content in sweetened dairy products with children’s appearance will remain high at an average of 11.5 grams per 100 grams in 2022, and the pace of reduction has slowed.
Drinks sometimes have higher sugar content again
Example of drinks: In the case of sweetened soft drinks, an initially significant decrease in sugar content has not continued recently. In some subgroups such as light lemonades and water with flavors, increases in the average sugar content were observed. There was no significant change in sweetened drinks with a children’s look from 2018 to 2022 – the sugar content was therefore above the level of the overall sample.
Example of muesli and co.: The sugar content of breakfast cereals has fallen – by 20 percent by 2022 compared to an initial survey. However, an increase in the average fat content was observed at the same time. The salt content of other products is also important. For pasta sauces, for example, there was a noticeable decline from 2016 to 2021 – by 15 percent for popular Bolognese sauces with meat. Despite reductions, light pasta sauces with cheese or cream still had relatively high energy and fat contents.
Criticism from consumer organization
The consumer organization Foodwatch criticized: “The ridiculous progress in reducing sugar, fat and salt shows once again that we cannot make any progress with voluntary commitments from the food industry alone.” The government must finally introduce effective measures to get diabetes and obesity under control – for example with a soda tax on sweetened drinks and long-overdue protection of children from junk food advertising.
The sugar industry explained that in the fight against obesity, the focus must be on calories – the new report shows gaps. Green party expert Renate Künast demanded: “The food industry must finally deliver and change the range of processed foods – especially for children.” In addition, the law that protects children and young people from advertising sugar bombs must be discussed in parliament. In the coalition, plans for advertising bans that Özdemir presented more than a year ago are being blocked by the FDP.
Source: Stern
