|
 The United States is the world's largest consumer of sweeteners and
obesity, diabetes and heart disease rank among leading health
concerns in the country.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration overhauled packaged foods
labeling last year and required all manufacturers to list added
sugars on labels by 2018.
Companies including Mars Chocolate North America LLC, Nestle USA, WM
Wrigley Jr Co and Lindt & Spruengli, said they had committed to
ensuring that half of their individually wrapped products sold in
the United States contain no more than 200 calories within the next
five years.
"There's going to be less sugar and less calories in the food that
consumers are going to be eating," said Larry Soler, president and
chief executive for Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA).
The commitment by the group of companies, which includes clearly
stating the calorie count on 90 percent of their best-selling
products, will be monitored for five years by PHA and the Hudson
Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
"They want to make sure that they meet the consumers where the
consumers want to be met," said John Downs, National Confectioners
Association president and chief executive.
The companies, which include the makers of M&M's and Jaw Busters,
could cut calories by reducing package sizing or reformulating
recipes, as well as launching new products.
Confectionery pricing was not part of the commitment, Soler said.
Nestle, the maker of Butterfinger and Crunch, said in December it
had devised a new technology that has the potential to reduce sugar
in some of its confectionery products by up to 40 percent without
affecting the taste.
Mars Chocolate North America has launched its Snickers Crisper, a
package of two 100-calorie pieces that feature crisped rice.
At present, over 60 percent of the companies' individually wrapped
products contain less than 250 calories each.
Soda companies, such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc, have also
targeted consumers who want lower calorie drinks by offering
products in smaller cans. The firms make larger margins on those
sales than for sodas sold in traditional-sized cans.
[to top of second column] |
CUTTING DOWN
Consumers have already cut down on candy. The volume of U.S. retail
sales of packaged confectionery declined 1.9 percent to 2.47 million
tonnes in 2016 from 2011, while sales of savory snacks rose 9.5
percent to 4.26 million tonnes, Euromonitor International data
shows.
Euromonitor forecasts that confectionery sales will rise to 2.5
million tonnes by 2021, however.
Retailers are adapting to changing consumer preferences. CVS
Pharmacy, for instance, announced a new store design last month to
drive growth in sales of what it described as "healthier choices" in
candy, snacks and other foods.
Hershey Co was not part of Thursday's commitment by candymakers to
cut calories, but it did make a similar announcement of its own in
April.
At the time, Hershey said that by 2022, it would make 50 percent of
its individually wrapped standard and king sized confectionary
products with 200 calories or less. It also committed to state the
number of calories on the front of its packaging for these products.
(Additional reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Simon Webb, Tom
Brown and David Gregorio)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
