Soft Drinks Industry Levy

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for raising this very important point. The Food Standards Agency is considering very carefully the findings of the review mentioned in the media, to which she referred. In the meantime, parents are strongly encouraged to follow the advice that slushy drinks should not be given to children under four years old. Retailers are also advised to make adults fully aware of this guidance if they seek to buy them for children. In addition, although the symptoms of intake are usually mild, it is important that parents are aware of the risks, particularly at high levels of consumption. I thank the noble Baroness for shining a light on this matter.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, research by the First Steps Nutrition Trust shows that parents believe that baby foods are strongly regulated. In fact, there is no legal threshold for the amount of sugar in baby foods in the UK; there is only a threshold for the amount of added sugar. If a large quantity of concentrated fruit juice is added, we end up with baby foods that have implicit labels on them suggesting that they are healthy but they contain more sugar than Coca-Cola. In the UK, 61% of two to five year-olds’ energy comes from ultra-processed foods. Will the Government look to get significant, important regulation for baby foods?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I understand the point that the noble Baroness raises. This is one of the areas that we are looking at. She also raised ultra-processed foods. As she may be aware, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has reviewed evidence and stated that further research is needed as to whether ultra-processed foods are unhealthy due to processing or to an unhealthy nutrient content. We have discovered that we need to separate the two. That will also assist on the point that she raised about baby foods.