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FSA unveils first steps of saturated fat and energy intake programme

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Ref: 2008/0715

The Food Standards Agency is today unveiling the range of activity it plans to take to help people in the UK reduce the amount of saturated fat they eat.

The diet of the average British adult contains too much saturated fat, added sugar and salt. Since 2004 the Agency has been working with industry to reformulate foods to reduce the amount of salt they contain, along with communicating the health impacts of a high-salt diet directly to consumers. It is now extending that focus to saturated fat and the balance of calories that we need.

Intakes of saturated fat in UK diets are around 20% higher than official Government recommendations. Eating too much saturated fat and a diet consisting of too many calories, compared to the energy we burn off through activity, can be a significant risk factor in developing a range of serious illnesses. Diet-related illnesses can include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers and obesity. It is estimated that cutting our intake to meet Government recommendations could help to prevent up to 3,500 deaths a year.

The programme of activity being published by the FSA today highlights how developing and building on positive and collaborative partnerships with industry, along with consumer awareness activity, could help reduce population intakes of saturated fat from 13.3% to below 11% of food energy.

This planned activity outlines the steps that can be taken to tackle the amount of saturated fat and added sugar to foods, while also taking account of the more complex and technical issues around reformulation. Reducing the amount of saturated fat in some foods presents a more complex challenge than removing salt.

This programme outlines future work in the following areas:

• building on partnerships with the food industry to:
  • encourage further voluntary reformulation of specific food groups to reduce the amount of saturated fat and added sugar they contain
  • increase the ranges of healthier options and step up the promotion of healthier products to consumers
  • make smaller portion sizes more readily available
  • publish food industry commitments to reformulate
• increasing consumer awareness activity to raise the profile of saturated fat as part of our overall efforts to encourage people to choose a healthy diet
• holding an independent academic workshop to examine evidence on portion sizes, chaired by Dr Susan Jebb - Head of Nutrition and Health Research at the Medical Research Counci.l

The steps outlined in this programme tie in with the Department of Health's Healthy Lives, Healthy Weight, and the Healthy Food Code of Good Practice outlined within the report.

Rosemary Hignett, Head of Nutrition at the Food Standards Agency, said: 'Reducing our intakes of saturated fat is a major challenge but would have clear important health benefits. To help us choose a balanced diet, we need practical information about foods and access to a range of healthier choices.

'The Agency is committed to doing what it can to encourage everyone to eat a balanced diet, which includes eating less saturated fat. We aim to work with industry on reducing saturated fat and added sugar levels in foods, reducing portion sizes and providing clear information to consumers, including honest nutrition information on labels.'

The Agency is currently exploring which activities are most effective in improving consumer awareness and therefore helping meet its commitments to reduce saturated fat intakes.

Notes to editors

• Reformulation of foods in order to reduce the amount of saturated fat they contain presents a more complex technical challenge than reducing salt. In some foods, saturated fat provides an important structural function as well as contributing to the tastes of products and reducing it is not as simple as producing lower salt foods.
• FSA consumer research conducted in May 2007 showed that:
  • most consumers do not make the distinction between fat and saturated fat when talking about fat in the diet
  • most consumers do not monitor saturated fat intake and are not always clear on where saturated fat comes from in their diet
  • consumers are unclear about why some fats are needed for a balanced diet
  • however, there is widespread recognition of the negative effects of saturated fat on health
  For full details see the Consumer qualitative research on fats link below.
• Following the FSA’s review on trans fats and Board recommendation in December 2007, the Secretary of State for Health wrote to the Agency recognising the findings of the review. In his response, the Secretary of State supported the Agency’s priority to reduce saturated fat intakes, while maintaining the current position on trans fats, as this is likely to have a significant impact on the health of the population.
  
  In October 2007, the Health Secretary requested an independent review of all the evidence available on trans fatty acids. The evidence showed that voluntary action by the UK food industry has already delivered consumer benefits equivalent to the most restrictive legislation (as has been introduced in Denmark and New York City). In December 2007, the FSA Board recommended to the Secretary of State that current voluntary action to reduce trans fats in food should be maintained rather than introducing mandatory restrictions.
  Average dietary intakes of trans fats in the UK have come down to half of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) recommended maximum intake, which is 2% of food energy. For further information see the Trans fats link below.
• The FSA has taken a two-pronged approach in its work to tackle the amount of salt we eat – a combination of public awareness campaigns and working with the food industry to encourage reformulation of products.
  
  Since this work began, we have seen a decrease in people’s average salt intake in the UK from 9.5g a day to 9g a day. In 2006, the Agency set salt reduction targets for the food industry to be met by 2010 and significant progress is being made. A review of these targets has begun and will look at what further reductions are needed to maintain progress towards our goal of reducing average daily intakes to no more than 6g of salt per person. For more information see the Salt link below.

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Fax: 020 7276 8833
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