Sugar Reduction is Important But Taste Rules Everything, Says Tate & Lyle

26 Sep 2016 --- Sugar reduction has really been a topical subject this year, with the recent publication of the UK Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan and its focus on the sugar levy and sugar reduction programs as a means of tackling obesity. The Sugar Reduction Summit is the UK’s leading event for industry, public health, policy, science and academia and the health and wellness communities interested in the importance and challenges of sugar reduction.

This year, the Sugar Reduction Summit, which took place at The Royal Society in London on Thursday 22nd September, included a detailed analysis of the impact of the sugar levy with the OECD’s Health Economist Franco Sassi and Kate Smith from The Institute of Fiscal Studies, a perspective on potential legal challenges from Amandine Garde University of Liverpool and industry contribution from Gareth Barrett at the British Soft Drinks Association. 

Dr Kavita Karnik (pictured at the Summit) from Tate & Lyle gave an interesting presentation on reformulation, where she also highlighted changing consumer attitudes and the need for low calorie sweeteners. “We have to remind ourselves that it’s not just sugar, calories are also important too,” she said. 

“We know there is a huge problem with sugar, obesity is a problem but what is more worrying is that the over populated regions of the world have a BMI of over 25. This is not just a problem is the developing world; some countries of lower income are also experiencing high levels of obesity rates.” 

“At Tate & Lyle we want to understand the population trends as a whole, from region to region. We want to understand the needs of our end consumers, even though we don’t deal with our end consumers it’s very important information to us, including their perceptions and attitudes towards ingredients both new and old,” explained Karnik. 

Speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst, Karnik said: The manufacturers need to think about other characteristics of the product such as texture, appearance and shelf life, when reformulating. Our industry has developed a number of ingredients and expertise to make reformulations of a variety of foods possible," she notes, "Food and beverage manufacturers need to reformulate and make use of these ingredients within the regulatory framework specific to the food groups being considered." 

"Education is an important tool to facilitate the use of the ingredients such as Low Calorie Sweeteners and soluble fibres to reduce sugar and calories, ultimately to help achieve public health goals. Tate & Lyle is committed to this through our global education program," Karnik added. 

Tate & Lyle initiated some consumer research with over 7,000 participants taking part in the survey. They found predominantly across Europe, that sugar ranked as the number one ingredient that consumers want to reduce intake of. 

“From our findings we can see that there is knowledge and awareness of what is good and what is bad for you,” said Karnik. “Not only did we find that consumers are aware of the risks that over consumption of sugar brings, but also that in salt and awareness of overall calorie reduction needs. The UK in particular, was very aware of these risks and are proving to being doing a good job in reducing the amounts of sugar, salt and calories.”

“What we also found significant for the UK was that consumers were finding sugar free and reduced sugar claims quite important when making purchasing decisions, overall 60% of consumers are taking this in to consideration when it comes to sugary products,” she explained. “We cannot ignore the fact, that the taste still rules everything else. People know what they should be eating but if the taste is not acceptable to the consumer, they are not likely to change their behavior and that’s where the real challenge lies for ingredient companies.”
 
Globally, 75% of consumers reviewed said that taste is the most important consideration. Karnik added: “This does vary from country to country but overall this is a very high number. We cannot ignore that fact it has to taste good.” 

There are a number of challenges when it comes to reformulation in sugar and calories, what is important in changing the drivers for reformulation is consumer demand, acceptance and government policy, which is making huge difference, such as the SACN report that has recently come out. These drivers will make huge changes globally, not just in the UK. 

“There are innovations happening in the industry that will provide a variety of solutions to the food industry, and to keep that taste that consumer’s desire,” noted Karnik. 

“We need to change perception which is never easy, but there is good progress to be made, we have already crossed a lot of hurdles but overall the food industry’s main concern is public health,” she concluded. 

by Elizabeth Kenward