Shrinking chocolate
If you’re about to tuck into your favourite chocolate bar, then enjoy it while you can because it could shrink by up to 20% as confectionery giants work to reduce sugar in their products.
According to a report in The Sunday Times, brands including Cadbury owner Mondelēz International and Nestlé are preparing to reduce the size of their chocolate bars in a bid to help reduce obesity levels. The move, the newspaper reports, will help them avoid being named and shamed in a series of Public Health England (PHE) reports, the first of which is due to be published next month.
In a statement sent to Confectionery Production, a spokesperson for Mondelēz International said, “We have been an active partner in the consultation on the Childhood Obesity Plan and the sugar reduction targets and look forward to seeing the output of this in March.
“As a result of what is published, we will consider all the options available to us as we look to continuing to play our role in tackling public health issues such as obesity.”
It added that the company has already been very active in this space, including offering more portion control products, bringing its single portion chocolate bars under 250kcal and launching sugar free products such as Halls and Trebor Mighties.
Meanwhile, Nestlé said resizing chocolate bars is not the only way to reduce sugar. It explained that the company is looking at all the options to reduce sugar in our confectionery products and it is working with PHE while it establishes its sugar reduction programme.
A Nestlé spokesperson noted, “While resizing is an effective way to reduce sugar, calories and fat from confectionery, it is certainly not the only choice.
“Recipe reformulation, ingredient substitution and the use of new technologies are all possibilities and with the right investment behind them, could deliver significant reductions. Nestlé is in the process of looking at all options and we are keeping in close contact with PHE while they establish their sugar reduction programme.”
Last year, Nestlé said it had found a way to reduce the amount of sugar in its chocolate by as much as 40%. It focuses on structuring sugar differently using natural ingredients.
