Orange juice tax is ‘frankly ludicrous’ and won’t tackle obesity spike, drink industry experts warn

Taxing orange juice in the same way as cola is “downright ridiculous” and won’t address rising obesity rates, beverage industry experts warn.

Former Chancellor George Osborne sparked outrage yesterday by calling for an extension of the sugar tax on fruit juice soft drinks.

He insisted those opposed to the move were “anti-nanny conservatives” who are “not worth listening to.”

But critics warned the move would make it more expensive for families to consume five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and hit their intake of key nutrients.

A 150 ml glass of juice counts as one of these five.

Mr Osborne called for an extension of the sugar tax to fruit juice and milkshakes, as well as biscuits and cakes

Mr Osborne called for sweeping public health interventions to curb obesity and cancer and insisted that ‘conservatives against nanny state’ were ‘not worth listening to’.

He said the soft drink industry tax, which he introduced in 2016, should be extended to fruit juices, milkshakes, cookies and pastries.

He claimed that extending the tax to fruit juice was “too controversial” when he was chancellor because “most people think that a glass of orange juice every day is a good thing.”

Osborne, who served as chancellor from 2010 to 2016, compared new taxes on unhealthy food to the smoking ban and mandatory seatbelts.

He told The Times: ‘They were all opposed by noisy lobbies at the time.

“It took quite a bit of political courage from the different administrations to get them done.

“But no one would reintroduce smoking in pubs now and no one would say you don’t have to wear a seatbelt.”

A 150 ml serving of orange juice typically contains about 15 g of sugar, which is equivalent to four teaspoons and comparable to what is in the same amount of Coca-Cola.

While sugar is usually added in non-diet versions of fizzy pop, that in juice occurs naturally.

The levy currently applies to added sugar and therefore excludes juice.

For drinks with a sugar content between 5 grams and a maximum of 8 grams per 100 ml, the ‘standard rate’ of 18 pence per liter applies, while the ‘higher rate’ of 24 pence per liter applies to drinks with a sugar content equal to or greater than 8 grams per litre. 100ml.

If the rules were changed to apply even to naturally occurring sugar, it would add 24p to the price of a 1-litre carton of orange juice – an increase of about 14 percent on supermarket house brands.

Last year, a new national food strategy led by Henry Dimbleby, the restaurateur, called for taxes on sugary and salty foods.

However, successive governments have shied away from anti-obesity policies for fear of ‘nanny statism’.

Mr Osborne said: ‘I was very disappointed that subsequent Conservative governments have reversed or canceled or postponed the various attempts to curb the advertising of junk food.’

He said it was unfair to impose extra taxes in times of recession ‘not washing’, adding that the food industry was ‘more than capable’ of absorbing new restrictions.

Gavin Partington, director-general of the British Soft Drinks Association, told the Mail: ‘It’s important to be clear on the evidence.

While the original soft drinks industry levy prompted some manufacturers to go further and faster in reformulating their products, there is no evidence that this has had an impact on obesity levels in the UK.

“A 150ml serving of fruit juice counts as one of your 5 a day, a goal that the vast majority of the population is already struggling to meet, so any measure that could further push people away from the vitamin and phytonutrient benefits of fruit juice is frankly ridiculous in principle.’

Conor Holohan, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxing orange juice is the latest in a long line of harmful and childish policy proposals to tackle obesity.

“The current sugar tax is ineffectively designed, economically harmful and morally questionable, and a tax on orange juice would be exactly the same.

“Legislators need to trust people to make their own decisions, not wrap them in cotton wool.”

Mr Osborne also said Britain should follow New Zealand’s lead in gradually raising the legal smoking age.

He said, ‘You’re actually winding it down.

‘Of course you get a lot of problems with illegal smoking, but you also have a lot of problems with other illegal activities.

“It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to ban and control them and make them less readily available.”