The UK government should extend its sugar tax beyond soft drinks to cover all types of foods, according to a major new report led by the University of Reading.
The Regulatory Tools for a Healthy and Sustainable Diet report highlights how the existing soft drinks levy has reduced sugar content in beverages by 44%, and suggests a similar approach expanded across all food types could help tackle the UK’s obesity crisis.
Introducing a new salt levy, similar to the sugar tax, is another proposal put forward in a comprehensive set of recommended regulations, which are suggested not only to transform public health in the UK, but also to deliver nationwide environmental benefits.
Professor Chris Hilson, lead author of the report at the University of Reading, said: “Extending the sugar tax to all processed foods is vital. The current levy has successfully cut sugar in soft drinks, but we need to see the same success with products like milkshakes, biscuits, yogurts and breakfast cereals to improve public health. Mandatory measures on the food sector, such as a salt tax, should be considered by MPs,” he added.
Hilson also supports the setting of targets for reducing red and processed meat consumption to reduce the UK’s climate impact “while also cutting the risk of cancer”.
The report calls on more stringent regulations for the food sector and a move away from the current approach, which relies more on voluntary measures.
The authors argue that measures like information labels on food packaging have failed to address serious environmental damage and poor health outcomes at a population-wide scale.
Stronger policies would also support economic goals rather than hinder them, the authors argue. “Voluntary approaches have not worked,” Hilson explained, “and we are now in a crisis state. Companies and farmers who want to do better are undermined by those who profit from ignoring health and environmental concerns.”
The new report forms part of the ‘Realigning UK Food Production and Trade for Transition to Healthy and Sustainable Diets’ project, commissioned under the UKRI Transforming UK Food Systems Programme (TUKFS). The project directly addresses the two overarching questions posed by the TUKFS programme that relate to: the changes in dietary consumption, food production and trade patterns required for a transition to healthy and sustainable diets (HSD); and the interventions needed to deliver this transformed food system.
