Food: Sugar

(asked on 25th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Public Health England on progress on the sugar reduction programme and the voluntary ambition.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 30th June 2021

The Secretary of State regularly meets with colleagues across Government to discuss measures to improve the healthiness of our food and diets. Public Health England (PHE) oversees the sugar reduction programme on behalf of the Government. As part of ongoing efforts to tackle the overconsumption of sugar, this programme challenged businesses across all industry sectors to reduce levels of sugar by 20% by 2020 in foods that contribute significantly to the sugar intakes of children up to 18 years. Juices and milk-based drinks excluded from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy also form part of the programme. Progress on sugar reduction is regularly and transparently monitored, and the most recent report on industry action was published in October 2020. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sugar-reduction-report-on-progress-between-2015-and-2019

Analysis shows mixed progress to date across categories, sectors and businesses and within individual products. Defra officials work closely with counterparts at PHE and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that policies and programmes on food, diet, and obesity are developed and delivered successfully.

Reticulating Splines