Demonising products ‘dangerous’, says IFST head

In this exclusive video, filmed at Food Manufacture’s Business Leaders’ Forum, held in London yesterday (January 21), Poole challenged recent negative media coverage about the sugar content in food and drink.

“ … I think there is a danger just at the moment that this is becoming a single story aimed purely at industry,” ​he said at the event, staged in association with law firm Stephenson Harwood and sponsored by Agrantec, Intertek, Tata Consultancy, insurance firm Aon, Columbus IT and NSF International.

Some nutrients under-consumed​

He cautioned that solely focusing on cutting certain foods out of the diet because they were high in demonised ingredients, such as sugar, could lead to consumers not getting positive nutrients. For example, he acknowledged some nutrients, such as vitamin D, were under-consumed in northern Europe.

Referring to recent coverage claiming bananas were bad for people to eat because they were high in sugar, he said: “That is a dangerous story, it’s a dangerous avenue to go down and we need to start giving more positive messages to the general public about how they can eat healthily.”​

And he warned negative messages about the food industry could deter potential recruits.