Transparency…on their terms
Five leading food and drink manufacturers sought to get ahead of the regulatory curve this week by pledging to publish data on the healthiness of their product portfolios. The quintet of businesses – Carlsberg Britvic, Danone North Europe, KP Snacks, Nomad Foods and Premier Foods – said they will begin voluntarily publishing healthy food sales data from next year, ahead of any mandatory requirements introduced under the UK Government’s plan for a healthy food standard.
Announced in last year’s ‘10 year health plan for England’, the policy will require large food businesses to report publicly on the healthiness of their food and drink sales and meet future targets, albeit the precise policy details have yet to be confirmed.
The original proposal, which also covers the eating out of home sector, suggested businesses will be given the freedom to meet the standard however works best for them, including by reformulating products and tweaking recipes, changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options.
In a letter to the secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, co-cordinated by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and signed by the five businesses, FDF chief executive Karen Betts said manufacturers shared the government’s ambition to help people follow healthier diets and reduce obesity. The FDF was initially opposed to mandatory reporting but changed tack last year prior to the publication of the health plan.
Yet the proactive decision by the FDF and some manufacturer members to get ahead of the curve comes with a significant caveat. “Reporting by these companies will be based on the current nutrient profiling model score – the model which underpins the HFSS [high in fat, sugar and salt] regulations,” stated the letter.
The FDF has been leading opposition to the proposed switch to a new nutrient profiling model (NPM), which governs which products are classed as HFSS for regulatory purposes. Replacing the 2004/05 nutrient profiling model with a version developed in 2018 to take into account updates to nutrition science would bring thousands of products in scope of advertising and promotion restrictions, with beverages and breakfast cereals among the most impacted categories.
It appears that by committing to publish data ahead of the regulation taking effect, businesses are hoping to pressurise ministers into having the original NPM underpin new reporting standards. “Using this model will enable industry to achieve reporting at pace as it is already implemented into business systems and does not require new methodologies to be agreed with government,” the letter continued.
The preemptive move also enables the industry to come up with its own preferred set of metrics for reporting healthy sales. “In this way, this group of early-movers can test the best ways to collate and report data to support our broader sector and government in informing any future legislation,” said Betts.
The pledge comes in the same week a former Conservative health minister attacked the food and drink industry for employing the same kind of “deny, distract and delay” tactics used by the tobacco industry to stave off new health regulations. Speaking at The Grocer health summit, James Bethell accused food industry trade bodies of conducting an “incredibly well-organised, energetic, well-funded lobbying campaign to make sure there isn’t a level playing field, and that the food environment prefers those that are stacking the shelves with high-margin, highly addictive foods and squeezes out smaller retailers and producers”.
Small Bites
Green light for new school food standards
Ministers have rubber-stamped changes to school food standards in England which will see more vegetables and fibre-rich foods like beans and pulses served from the start of the next academic year in September 2027. The UK Government has retained most of the changes from its original proposal published in April, although some amendments have been made following consultation including the removal of the proposed fruit-only dessert day in primary schools. Schools will be expected to publish their food policies and menus online and nominate a governor to hold them to account for the food on offer. The Department for Education will also work with the Food Standards Agency on an approach to monitoring school food provision, with more details set to be revealed in the coming months. Campaigners have largely welcomed the changes, which mark the first update to English school food standards in over a decade. However, concern has been expressed in some quarters that the changes risk being unworkable without an increase in funding for school food provision. After the draft standards were published in the spring, several caterers told Footprint they estimated the new standards would add at least 20% to their current costs.
Waitrose adopts first science-based seafood targets
The Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN) has welcomed signs of a market shift from ambition toward credible action on nature protection after a raft of companies reported progress against targets and made new commitments. UK supermarket chain Waitrose is among the organisations to have adopted the first science-based targets for seafood alongside Danish aquaculture company Musholm. “From suspending mackerel sourcing to help protect stocks, to investing in habitat restoration in the places we source our prawns, these targets help us translate science into practical action that supports healthier marine ecosystems and more resilient supply chains,” said Marija Rompani, director of ethics and sustainability for Waitrose-owner, John Lewis Partnership. A new report details progress made by a range of organisations including French dairy producer, Bel Group, and Japanese food and drink giant, Kirin Holdings, which have had their assessment and prioritisation work in the area of nature and biodiversity validated through the Accountability Accelerator, SBTN’s validation host. “What this report shows is that science-based targets for nature are bringing greater clarity to a complex issue and giving companies a stronger basis for deciding where and how to act,” said Erin Billman, executive director of SBTN. The launch of the next iteration (2.0) of SBTN’s science-based targets for nature is scheduled to take place on October 13th.
Food waste recycling not so simple
A mandated rollout of food waste bins across England has not yet translated into a decisive change in recycling habits, according to a new survey of households. Under the Simper Recycling in England policy, local authorities have been required to provide a separate food waste collection service from March of this year, meaning many homes are receiving food waste collections for the first time. Yet a survey by Recycle Now to mark Recycling Week found the dominant disposal route for most items of food remains the general rubbish. Despite 57% of UK households questioned saying they receive food waste collections and are using them, Recycle Now found that half-eaten or out-of-date food is more likely to go straight into the bin than into the food waste caddy, meaning neither food nor packaging are recycled but incinerated or buried in landfill. 18-34 year olds are highlighted as particular offenders where feeding bins rather than caddies is concerned. Across all categories of resources, 89% of households say they regularly recycle with just 1% of people claiming to never recycle. Over one in three (38%), however, believe they could recycle more than they currently do.
Chef’s Special
Ingredients foraged from the wild can add an authentic sprinkle of nature to a restaurant menu. Yet the question of how sustainable this kind of wild sourcing is tends not to be given a second thought. Conservation experts are now warning that many of the species behind wild-harvested foods face extinction through overharvesting, habitat loss and climate change. This week, a new framework has been launched with the aim of keeping wild-harvested plants in commercial supply and out of danger. Launched by the NGO, Traffic, in partnership with British conservation consultancy, Biodiversify, the ‘Wild harvest improvement project’ (WHIP) framework is billed as a step-by-step plan to help local communities and the companies buying from them make the harvesting of wild plants more sustainable. The framework has already been piloted in Uzbekistan, on liquorice roots, and in Morocco, on argan kernels. “A WHIP ensures these species remain a critical part of their ecosystems while helping the people who harvest them earn a dignified living. That is a commercial argument as much as a conservation one,” said Cara Flowers, sustainable supply chain manager at Traffic. The NGO, which works to ensure trade in wild species is legal and sustainable, has developed a ‘Wildcheck’ platform, where businesses can check to see whether common wild ingredients are likely to appear in their own supply chains.
Last Orders
Heineken UK has reduced its exposure to volatile energy prices by installing an industrial heat pump to part-power its Manchester brewery. The £28.2m investment in large-scale industrial heat pump technology is now fully embedded across the site, resulting in a 33% reduction in natural gas consumption and a 42% reduction in CO₂ emissions intensity, the drinks giant has revealed. It said further efficiency gains are expected as performance continues to be fine-tuned and scaled across operations. The project has been supported by £3.7m in funding from the government’s industrial energy transformation fund, which aims to accelerate the deployment of technologies aimed at reducing industrial emissions. Brewery operations have a particularly high energy requirement, which creates a challenge around decarbonisation. Manchester is Heineken’s largest UK brewery, producing beers such as Foster’s, Cruzcampo and Heineken. “With the right support in place, projects like Heineken Manchester show that meaningful change is possible and that brewing can play a real role in accelerating a lower carbon future,” said Sonia Thimmiah, corporate affairs director at Heineken UK.
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