Less sugar in soft drinks
On 25 June 2018, the CEO of the Australian Beverages Council, Geoff Parker, and the Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, announced that Australia’s major soft drink companies had signed an agreement to reduce the sugar in non-alcoholic drinks by an average of 20 percent, in a move aimed to tackle the country’s obesity crisis.
The action by Coca-Cola South Pacific, Coca-Cola Amatil, PepsiCo, Asahi Beverages and Frucor Suntory and other producers will not reduce the amount of sugar in specific drinks but will promote and offer more low sugar and sugar-free drinks and smaller container sizes over the next two to seven years.
Under the agreement, the manufacturers, who account for about 80 percent of national production, will initially introduce a ten percent reduction in sugar by 2020, with the target of 20 percent being achieved by 2025.
The Beverage Council said: “We are determined to reduce sugar without having a negative impact on taste.”
However, health advocates are doubtful that the proposed action will achieve the desired effect. Dr Tony Bartone, Federal President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) said that, although any action by the industry to address obesity was welcome, he was sceptical about the proposed policy. He added: “Twenty percent across the board means that headline products are still the same as always and we need to reduce the consumption of those – they just contain too much sugar. Taxes on sugar sweetened foods and beverages introduced overseas are working well and measures were needed to address the underlying problems [in Australia].”
