Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of introducing mandatory warning labels on food products which include so-called "secret sugars" such as sauces and condiments.

Food labelling legislation means that food, including sauces and condiments, needs to include back of pack nutritional information, which includes total sugar content.

In addition, Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling is intended to support healthier choices by communicating complex nutritional information to consumers in a way that is easy and quick to understand. The United Kingdom was one of the first to introduce a national Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling system, and the voluntary Multiple Traffic Light scheme has been in place across the UK since 2013. It is widely used by consumers and some businesses.

In 2020, the Government and the devolved governments at the time held an evidence-gathering consultation on Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling. This considered whether improvements were needed to the UK’s Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling scheme and invited views on international examples of labelling, including the use of warning labels.

If changes to Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling are required in future, we will publish findings and consult again on the proposed policy changes.