Nestle in pledge to further cut sugar in breakfast cereals

Nestle has pledged to cut sugar in its UK breakfast cereals by a further 10% by the end of next year in a move welcomed by health chiefs.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Jul 2017, 18:04 BST
Updated 18th Jul 2017, 08:31 BST
Nestle has pledged to cut sugar in its UK breakfast cereals by a further 10% by the end of next year in a move welcomed by health chiefs.Nestle has pledged to cut sugar in its UK breakfast cereals by a further 10% by the end of next year in a move welcomed by health chiefs.
Nestle has pledged to cut sugar in its UK breakfast cereals by a further 10% by the end of next year in a move welcomed by health chiefs.

The consumer goods giant said the latest cuts would remove around 225 million teaspoons of sugar from the nation's diet as part of an ongoing programme across the product portfolio, which includes Cheerios and Shreddies, that has already seen average content cut by 15%.

It said the reformulations would continue to reduce sugar and salt while increasing levels of whole grain, with its cereals sold in the UK last year containing an extra 3,600 tonnes of whole grain compared with 2003.

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Gharry Eccles, UK regional vice president of Cereal Partners Worldwide - which makes Nestle cereals, said: "Offering consumers healthier and tastier cereals is one of our top priorities, and we are determined to make breakfast even better for everyone.

"We'll take every opportunity to drive forward improvements across our range. For example, by the end of this year, our cereals will be free from artificial flavours and colours across our entire product portfolio.

"Making these improvements is crucial to us offering better choices for our consumers while retaining the same great taste."

Public Health England (PHE) chief nutritionist Alison Tedstone said: "This is a major step from Cereal Partners and a good sign of its commitment to reduce sugar in Nestle breakfast cereals.

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"While there is a long way to go to drive sugar consumption down to recommended levels, we believe this announcement will encourage other companies to make significant reductions and produce healthier products to meet the Government's 20% target by 2020."

Earlier this year, Nestle announced the reformulation of some of the UK's favourite chocolate bars - including Kit Kats and Yorkie bars - to contain 10% less sugar by 2018.

It said around 7,500 tonnes of sugar will be removed across a number of well-known brands using a range of methods and initiatives.

Related topics:NestleGovernmentPHE