A move to limit the portion sizes of chocolate bars in the UK is aimed at generating goodwill amongst consumers. However, unless other factors are addressed, it is highly possible that it will be perceived as food producers merely paying ‘lip-service’ to the notion of ethical marketing.
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Leading UK manufacturers are set to scrap or repackage king size bars and ‘supersized’ portions. This is one of seven pledges set out in the first Manifesto for Food and Health published by Britain’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which includes industry players Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Pepsi and Weetabix.
The FDF cannot force members to stop supersizing, but the manifesto includes commitments from individual companies on sizes. One notable refusal to opt in, however, has been from Nestlé, which was reported as stating that king size products make up only a small part of its product portfolio and are consumed mainly by “young men with active lifestyles”.
Nestlé’s decision is interesting, given that supersizing has become one of the most controversial issues in the debate between the food industry and health campaigners about how to tackle soaring rates of obesity and weight problems.
The House of Commons’ Health Select Committee warned in May that Britain is facing an obesity epidemic. According to the British Heart Foundation, Britain has the fastest growing obesity problem in the world, with the number of overweight children growing twice as quickly as in America.
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By GlobalDataA spokeswoman for the FDF told the Independent newspaper that it hopes the move will “debunk the myth that food manufacturers are not doing anything to tackle the obesity problem, and cannot contribute to the debate”.
Despite general positive perceptions surrounding the move, it is likely to be greeted with scepticism unless it is followed with other broader measures. For instance, of equal importance is adjusting what is increasingly considered to be aggressive marketing of sugary and fatty foods to children.
Other key issues, also in the manifesto, include the reduction of high salt content in foods and provision of clearer nutritional information on labels. Equally important is the need to provide consumers with more healthy choices in a wider range of distribution channels. Only once these wider ranging measures have been addressed will the food industry begin to regain the trust of consumers.
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