New focus for Irish food exporters as UK health report targets sugar, salt, and meat

The National Food Strategy group seeks levying £3 (€3.50) per kilogram of sugar and £6 per kilogram of salt sold wholesale, for use in processed foods, in restaurants and the catering sector. 

The second of the reports from the UK's National Food Strategy which is tasked with finding ways to combat Britain's obesity crisis would have significant implications for Irish food firms selling into the key British market.

A report for the UK government urging new taxes on sugar, salt, and for consumers to eat a third less meat, are set to raise new challenges for Irish food exporting firms which rely on Britain as their biggest market. 

The second of the reports from the UK's National Food Strategy which is tasked with finding ways to combat Britain's obesity crisis would have significant implications for Irish food firms selling into the key British market.             

The National Food Strategy group had recommended earlier this year for British TV to ban junk food commercials before 9pm and for ads to be outlawed completely online. Promotions such as 'buy one get one free' on high fat, salt and sugar food and drinks will be restricted in supermarkets from next April.

The UK food group now seeks levying £3 (€3.50) per kilogram of sugar and £6 per kilogram of salt sold wholesale, for use in processed foods, in restaurants and the catering sector. 

That would encourage manufacturers to change food recipes or reduce portion sizes, and could raise as much as £3.4bn for the UK's government.  

The Government here faced much controversy and push back from food and drink producers when it implemented its delayed sugar tax that was designed to encourage consumers and producers to turn away from highly-sweetened soft drinks. 

The tax added about 10 cent on the price of a can of cola but was only established in May 2018. The tax went on to raise millions in in its first year of operation which were earmarked for use in healthy food promotions.   

The new British recommendations would also force food companies with more than 250 employees to disclose sales of fruit, vegetables, protein and products high in fat, sugar or salt and define minimum food standards. Cutting meat consumption by 30% would help the UK reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the new review.

Still, a meat tax would be “politically impossible,” and the British government would be better off nudging consumers to change their eating habits, the report said. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “not attracted” to the idea of extra taxes on food. 

New CSO figures showed the growing importance of the British market for Irish food exporters since the Irish Sea border came into place in December. 

Exports to Britain increased by €262m, or by 28%, to €1.2bn in May from May 2020, helped by sales across the Irish Sea of food and live animals. Imports from Britain fell by 24% to €927m over the same period.   

Irish food firms said they are responding to consumer demand for healthier foods. 

Paul Kelly, director at Ibec's business group, Food Drink Ireland said it backed a national strategy plan aimed to make Ireland "a world-leader in sustainable food systems" and has welcomed an existing Department of Health plan. 

“The food and drink industry in Ireland has long been committed to a variety of initiatives that help consumers to have a healthy diet and lifestyle, including product reformulation that has led to significant reductions in salt and sugar," Mr Kelly said.