22 Jan 2010 --- Mars Chocolate UK has announced a first for the confectionery industry with a significant reduction in saturated fat across a number of its core chocolate bars. This announcement is the result of 5 years of development, an investment of 10m Euros and a commitment of over 40,000 R&D man hours.

From the summer 2010 in the UK, MARS, SNICKERS, MILKY WAY, TOPIC and FLYTE will all contain at least 15% less saturated fat per bar compared with their current recipes. This means they will contain 40-45% less saturated fat than the current average of the top 25 UK chocolate brands per 100g. Moreover, this breakthrough has been achieved without any change in the taste or quality of these iconic products.

The reduction, which will remove more than 600 tonnes of saturated fat per year from the UK diet, is the latest step in Mars’ ongoing commitment to improve its products’ nutritional composition. Mars is a proven leader in nutritional developments within confectionery and has made a series of commitments as part of its ‘Raising the Bar’ programme, including:

•minimising Trans Fatty Acid levels
•introducing clear Guideline Daily Allowances and front of pack labelling,
•completely removing artificial colours and flavouring from all chocolate bars

Fiona Dawson, managing director, Mars Chocolate UK says “Our goal is to make our products better for you without compromising on taste. We are proud to have achieved this as a result of many years of research and investment We remain committed to improving the nutritional quality of our products whilst delivering the same great taste to our consumers.”

Professor Judy Buttriss, Director General of the British Nutrition Foundation, says “Saturated fat is a health issue that needs addressing by consumers and food manufacturers alike. In order to reduce total intakes across the population to below 10% of total energy intake, the formulation of all sources of saturated fat – even popular treats – needs to be tackled. Any initiative to reduce the amount of saturated fat in the UK diet is a step in the right direction.”

The reformulated bars have been independently taste tested to ensure that the taste and quality is exactly the same. The new MARS bar will contain less saturated fat per bar than any other product in the Top 10 UK confectionery singles**.

The announcement comes as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) kicks off its second campaign on saturated fat reduction. Mars has worked closely with the FSA over the past 2 years as part of their Saturated Fat and Energy Intake (SFEI) programme, and fully support the FSA’s focus on lowering levels of saturated fat in the UK diet.