New polling shows public distrust in food companies

Today, we have joined a collective call to action by leading food, health and children’s advocacy groups, and experts including Sustain, the Food Foundation, the Obesity Health Alliance, British Heart Foundation, Bite Back, and Diabetes UK in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves and Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, which urges the Government to go ‘faster and further’ in accelerating financial incentives to create a healthier food industry.

The letter, sent as part of the Recipe for Change campaign, coincides with new polling data highlighting the British public’s scepticism towards food companies’ commitment to health. Conducted by YouGov with nearly 5,000 British adults, the survey reveals that:

• 74% of adults believe that companies are not honest about the health impacts of their food, with only 17% of the public trusting them to be honest.
• 61% of people are worried about sugar and saturated fat levels in their food, 50% about salt levels, and 72% about high levels of processing.
• Only 13% believe food companies will reduce unhealthy ingredients in their food without government intervention.
• 68% support an expansion of the sugary drinks tax to other unhealthy foods, if the money supported children’s food and health initiatives.

In the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it will commence uprating the Soft Drinks Industry Levy with inflation, it will review the current thresholds, and whether to end the exemption for pre-packaged milk-based drinks (or alternative plant-based drinks) containing added sugar.

Whilst these measures are welcome, the coalition’s letter underscores the need for decisive Government action which must include developing plans for the wider regulation of the food industry as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review and budget processes in 2025. By advancing financial incentives and regulatory measures, the UK can foster a food industry that better supports public health.

The new polling is in line with the recommendations of the independent National Food Strategy led by Henry Dimbleby, which suggests that an industry-wide sugar and salt reformulation tax could have the potential to raise up to £3 billion per year that could be reinvested into programmes designed to increase access to healthy food. Modelling for the Recipe for Change campaign suggests that the reduction of salt and sugar it would trigger could prevent up to 2 million cases of diet-related ill health (including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, respiratory disease and several types of cancer), and be worth up to £77.9 billion over 25 years.

These recommendations were echoed again recently by a new report from the Lords’ Select Committee Inquiry on Food, Diet and Obesity Recipe for Health which exposed the shocking levels of ill health associated with a ‘broken food system’ dominated by ultra-processed products that are high in fat, salt and sugar, which cost billions in healthcare and lost productivity each year. The Lords’ report called on the Government to address the lack of financial incentives that could align the food industry with delivering on its own health and economic growth mission.

Any new fiscal incentive for the food industry would build on the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which has succeeded in reducing overall sugar sold in soft drinks by 34% whilst raising over £1.8 billion since 2018, enabling the Government to invest in children’s health by expanding breakfast clubs, holiday activity and food programmes and primary sports and PE equipment.

Ansaf Azhar, our spokesperson for healthy places, said:

“Directors of Public Health are already working with a wide range of organisations and individuals locally to create environments that make affordable, healthier food options more accessible.

“To be truly effective though, this local action needs to be backed by national legislation. The measures outlined in the King’s Speech and last week’s budget are very welcome, but we know that to achieve the Government’s mission to prevent obesity and food-related ill health, we need to implement a raft of other measures too.

“The good news is that we know what to do and how to do it, and we are here, ready and willing, to support the Government to make healthier eating an option for everyone, regardless of where they live, or how much money they have.”

Katharine Jenner, Director of the Obesity Health Alliance, and a signatory to the letter, said:

“These new poll results confirm that the public does not trust the food and drink industry to put health before profit. Years of manipulative tactics have allowed them to avoid regulation, delay progress and disguised products as ‘healthy,’ hiding the sad reality that they’re packed with salt, sugar, and saturated fat. We’re now calling on our new Government to turn words into action and deliver real change.”