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Junk Food Crackdown Could Axe Tomatoes from Sauces
1 Feb
Summary
- Labour's proposed junk food rules may remove tomatoes from sauces.
- Food chiefs warn natural ingredients could be replaced with additives.
- Products may be banned from pre-watershed advertising if high in sugar.
New government proposals aimed at curbing obesity could lead to the removal of natural ingredients like tomatoes from popular food products. Labour's planned junk food crackdown, part of a 10-year health strategy, seeks to update the classification of healthy and unhealthy foods by including 'free sugars'.
This methodology change has raised concerns among food industry executives. They warn that it could incentivize companies to substitute natural fruit purees and vegetable pastes with artificial sweeteners to meet new sugar thresholds.
Such a shift might also restrict the advertising of numerous everyday items. Products exceeding the sugar limits, including pasta sauces and yogurts, could face a ban on being advertised before the 9pm broadcasting watershed.
