Tax unhealthy food to tackle obesity, campaigners say

Dozens of health and children’s organizations have urged ministers to tackle obesity by taxing foods containing too much salt or sugar.

New levies based on the sugar tax on soft drinks would make it easier for consumers to eat healthier by forcing food manufacturers to reformulate their products, they claim.

Their plea comes in a letter from 35 groups to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the health minister, Wes Streeting. Signatories include groups representing the UK’s doctors, dentists and public health chiefs, health charities including Diabetes UK and the World Cancer Research Fund, and a senior figure in chef Jamie Oliver’s organisation.

The health organizations believe that taxing unhealthy foods such as cakes, sweets, biscuits, crisps and savory snacks would save billions of pounds for the Treasury and reduce the number of people who become ill due to a poor diet.

Opinion polls show that two-thirds of the UK government support taxes on such products, as long as the proceeds benefit children’s health.

The representative survey of 4,943 British adults by YouGov, commissioned by food campaigners’ Recipe for Change initiative, also found that:

• 74% believe that food companies are not honest about the health effects of their products.

• 61% are concerned about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in what they eat.

• Only 13% believe that producers will make their food more nutritious without government intervention.

• 72% are concerned about the high level of processing in food production.

Reeves announced in last week’s budget that the Treasury Department is investigating whether the sugar tax, which came into effect in 2018, should be extended to other very sweet products, including milkshakes and high-sugar coffee. It is widely considered a success.

Anna Taylor, chief executive of the Food Foundation, who also signed the letter, said: “The damage the food industry is causing to children’s health is the greatest threat to our country’s wellbeing and future productivity and this must be urgently curbed.

“The government must now become bolder and create real incentives to force the industry to adapt further and faster to public health objectives.”

The government mandated National Food Strategy published in 2021, authored by Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, first proposed the idea of ​​a new “reformulation tax on salt and sugar”.

In recent months, the House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the British Heart Foundation have expressed support for food taxes.

The health groups want ministers to strictly regulate the food industry. They said relying on the industry to voluntarily clean up its act on food, as previous Conservative governments did between 2010 and 2024, had failed to deliver meaningful change.

“Voluntary reformulation programs for sugar, salt and calories do not appear to be effective enough, achieving only a 3.5% reduction in sugar levels in key product categories, compared to the mandatory soft drink industry levy (sugar tax), which reduces overall sugar taxes has achieved. turnover of 34.4% between 2015 and 2020,” the letter said.

Only 34% of sales of the world’s 30 largest food and drink companies come from more nutritious ‘healthier’ products, according to to a report published on Thursday.

While 70% of Danone’s, 65% of Barilla’s and 58% of Arla’s turnover come from such products, only 38% of Coca-Cola does, with even lower percentages for Kraft Heinz (35%). Nestlé (33%) and Mars (15%).

Producers are generally making little progress in improving the nutritional quality of their produce, despite pressure from health organizations and governments to reformulate, according to findings collected by the Netherlands-based nonprofit organization the Access to the nutrition initiative.

Jamie O’Halloran, senior research fellow at IPPR, said: “Without bold regulatory changes, our food system will continue to fall short in promoting healthy lifestyles, especially for those on the lowest incomes.

“Extending the levies to other high-sugar and ultra-processed products could be transformative, especially if the resulting revenues are used to support low-income households in making healthy food choices.”

Manufacturers were already making their products healthier, the Food and Drink Federation said. “Companies have made significant progress in creating healthier options for shoppers. As a result, our members’ products now contribute 25% less sugar, 24% fewer calories and 33% less salt to the UK supermarket market compared to 2015, and have also provided an additional 190 million servings of fiber to the population,” said one spokesman. said.

A government spokesperson said: “Obesity is a significant health challenge, affecting 26% of adults and costing the NHS £11.8 billion a year.

“The Budget has taken action to ensure the soft drink industry levy retains its incentive to encourage healthier soft drinks, and we will publish a 10-year health plan in spring 2025.”