Stricter regulations in the candy industry are coming soon, and packaging labels will continue to improve

Release time:

2023-04-27 09:59

At the annual meeting of the European Candy and Biscuit Association (CAOBISCO) held in Brussels recently, candy manufacturers such as Mars, Ferrero, Yizi, Nestle, and representatives from the European Commission discussed the role that the candy industry should play in health issues. The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) stated that for candy companies, what consumers want is to restrict the children's market.
Starting from curbing obesity
According to data from the World Health Organization, one-third of children in Europe are overweight or obese, and their intake of sugar, salt, and saturated fatty acids is much higher than dietary recommendations. In other regions, this issue cannot be ignored and must be given attention.
Constrain advertising
According to data from the American Psychological Association, children are influenced by television commercials to choose unhealthy foods, which is a crucial factor in causing obesity.
Data shows that children who watch more TV every day consume more total calories, as well as fast food and sugary drinks.
Therefore, BEUC requires candy and beverage manufacturers to reduce the addition of sugar, salt, and saturated fatty acids, while increasing their intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and healthy proteins. For candy manufacturers, the first thing to do is to reduce the market.
In 2010, CAOBISCO recommended that member companies join the EU declaration, which requires a ban on advertising to children under the age of 12. Mars, Ferrero, Yizi, and Nestle all announced compliance with the declaration.
Declaration of Accession to the European Union
The EU declaration has certain limitations. Today's children still receive a large amount of information that motivates them to choose unhealthy foods, such as candy and cookies with cartoon characters printed on their packaging.
The advertising of EU declaration member companies accounts for 80% of the EU food and beverage industry. Pauline Castres, a food policy officer at BEUC, stated that candy manufacturers should reflect on health issues, and government departments should also play a role in setting goals.
At present, food companies voluntarily join the EU Declaration, and each food company has made improvement policies for the children's market.
Tighter regulations are coming soon
The UK Advertising Commission (CAP) is currently implementing a policy to completely ban advertising for high fat, high salt, and high sugar foods (HFSS), which is an extension of the current requirements for non broadcast media, such as online platforms.
Although many member companies have restructured their products, adjusting the packaging size is still a measure taken by many large companies.
Control packaging weight
Castres strongly agrees with CAOBISCO's request to reduce the packaging size of candy products, but also points out that the price of small packaged food should be appropriately reduced to make it affordable for consumers. She said, "Small volume packaging will be more than twice as expensive as other sizes of packaging, which low-income families cannot afford
In addition, Castres believes that the size of each serving marked on the trademark should truly reflect how much consumers have actually eaten.
The amount of sugar added will be indicated
BEUC has stated that EU legislation on "Food Information Provided to Consumers (FIC)" means that from December 13, 2016, food companies will have an obligation to provide product nutrition information.
Such labels will not become a big problem for candy companies, and consumers will not be shocked by the candy they eat in chocolate. Relatively speaking, it may have a greater impact on other categories, such as when consumers see a lot of sugar in a self proclaimed healthy milk cocktail breakfast, or when they see a lot of sugar in a healthy cereal bar, they usually feel surprised.
In the United States, Mars chocolate supports the labeling of added sugar levels, and the National Candy Association has also stated that the nutritional table of the product needs further modification.
BEUC supports the launch of a traffic light signal label system in the European Union. Castres stated that traffic light signal labels will not only address obesity issues, but will also help consumers identify high levels of sugar and saturated fatty acids in products that claim to be very healthy.