FSA: Industry must do more to commend healthier options

Food manufacturers are not doing enough to drive uptake of reduced-fat products, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Speaking at a Leatherhead Food International conference on saturated fats, FSA nutritionist Judith Holden said: “It’s not enough to sit back and say, ‘I’ve done a healthier version’. You’ve got to do more to try and drive uptake of healthier options.”

Packaging and presentation were key to this, she said. However, many lower-fat or ‘light’ versions of products tended to have very “feminine” packaging that appealed to female slimmers rather than the mass of the population, she claimed. “How can the presentation be adapted so that these products are more mainstream and that there is greater uptake?”

Portion sizes also needed addressing to help consumers manage their energy intakes, she said. “Smaller portions are often only available in multi-packs rather than in single portions that can be bought for on-the-go snacking. You get 25g bags of crisps in multi-packs in the supermarket, but not in the convenience sector, where there is usually only 35g or 50g packs. Why aren’t 25g packs also available in WH Smith?”

A high-profile advertising campaign was however unlikely to feature in FSA plans to reduce intakes of saturated fats, she revealed.

Although the Sid the Slug ads highlighting the risks of excessive salt consumption were successful, she insisted, the FSA had to achieve a balance between helping people exercise sensible choices and lecturing them. “One of our biggest concerns is over-facing people. If there are too many messages and too much information, people switch off, so we’re loathe to jump in with a big campaign.”

Manufacturers have until June 19 to respond to the FSA’s draft consultation outlining a programme to help consumers reduce saturated fat intakes and maintain a better energy balance. This aims to promote awareness of healthy eating, encourage the industry to reformulate products to reduce saturated fats and finally to boost uptake of reformulated products and smaller portion sizes.

If it were possible to help consumers reduce their energy intake by as little as 60 calories a day, it would be possible to prevent weight gain of about a kilogram a year, said Holden.