scholarly journals Reformulation of Packaged Foods and Beverages in the Colombian Food Supply

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3260
Author(s):  
Caitlin M. Lowery ◽  
Mercedes Mora-Plazas ◽  
Luis Fernando Gómez ◽  
Barry Popkin ◽  
Lindsey Smith Taillie
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Processed Foods ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Packaged Foods

Public discussion, advocacy, and legislative consideration of policies aimed at reducing consumption of processed foods, such as sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes and mandatory front-of-package (FOP) warning labels, may stimulate product reformulation as a strategy to prevent regulation. In Colombia, there have been major legislative pushes for SSB taxes and FOP labels, although neither has passed to date. In light of the ongoing policy debate and successful implementation of similar policies in Peru and Chile, we explored manufacturer reformulation in the Colombian food supply. We compared the quantities of nutrients of concern (including sugar, sodium, and saturated fat) from the nutrition facts panels of the same 102 packaged foods and 36 beverages from the top-selling brands in Colombia between 2016 and 2018. Our analyses showed a substantial decrease in median sugar content of beverages, from 9.2 g per 100 mL to 5.2 g per 100 mL, and an increase in the percentage of beverages containing non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), from 33% to 64% (p = 0.003). No meaningful changes in the quantities of nutrients of concern among foods were observed. Our findings suggest little reformulation has occurred in Colombia in the absence of mandatory policies, except for the substitution of sugar with NNS among beverages.

scholarly journals Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Volume, Tiered, and Absolute Sugar Content Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Policies in the United States

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (6) ◽  
pp. 523-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujin Lee ◽  
Dariush Mozaffarian ◽  
Stephen Sy ◽  
Junxiu Liu ◽  
Parke E. Wilde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Adjusted Life Years ◽  
Added Sugar ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Health Gains ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Quality Adjusted Life

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes are a rapidly growing policy tool and can be based on absolute volume, sugar content tiers, or absolute sugar content. Yet, their comparative health and economic impacts have not been quantified, in particular, tiered or sugar content taxes that provide industry incentives for sugar reduction. Methods: We estimated incremental changes in diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, quality-adjusted life-years, costs, and cost-effectiveness of 3 sugar-sweetened beverage tax designs in the United States, on the basis of (1) volume ($0.01/oz), (2) tiers (<5 g of added sugar/8 oz: no tax; 5–20 g/8 oz: $0.01/oz; and >20 g/8 oz: $0.02/oz), and (3) absolute sugar content ($0.01 per teaspoon added sugar), each compared with a base case of modest ongoing voluntary industry reformulation. A validated microsimulation model, CVD-PREDICT (Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model for Risk, Events, Detection, Interventions, Costs, and Trends), incorporated national demographic and dietary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, policy effects and sugar-sweetened beverage-related diseases from meta-analyses, and industry reformulation and health-related costs from established sources. Results: Over a lifetime, the volume, tiered, and absolute sugar content taxes would generate $80.4 billion, $142 billion, and $41.7 billion in tax revenue, respectively. From a healthcare perspective, the volume tax would prevent 850 000 cardiovascular disease (95% CI, 836 000–864 000) and 269 000 diabetes mellitus (265 000–274 000) cases, gain 2.44 million quality-adjusted life-years (2.40–2.48), and save $53.2 billion net costs (52.3–54.1). Health gains and savings were approximately doubled for the tiered and absolute sugar content taxes. Results were robust for societal and government perspectives, at 10 years follow-up, and with lower (50%) tax pass-through. Health gains were largest in young adults, blacks and Hispanics, and lower-income Americans. Conclusions: All sugar-sweetened beverage tax designs would generate substantial health gains and savings. Tiered and absolute sugar content taxes should be considered and evaluated for maximal potential gains.

scholarly journals Developing sugar-sweetened beverage warning labels for young adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Jennifer Falbe ◽  
Astrid Montuclard ◽  
Alina Engelman ◽  
Sabrina Adler ◽  
Athena Roesler
Keyword(s):  
Public Universities ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Warning Label ◽  
Warning Labels ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Design Task ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Loss Frame ◽  
Credible Source

Abstract Objective: There is a lack of qualitative research developing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) warning labels with their intended end-users. We sought to identify promising SSB warning elements for improving label effectiveness and for future testing in policy and institutional settings. Design: Mixed-methods design using 10 focus groups, a design task, and survey. The design task was used to generate ideas for an icon that would dissuade SSB consumption. The survey and focus group guide assessed participant perceptions of SSB warning label mock-ups of text (loss-frame, gain-frame, and loss-frame with attribution), color, and icon options. Setting: Three large public universities in California from February-March 2018. Participants: Young adult SSB consumers (n=86) enrolled in one of three diverse California public universities. Results: Participants perceived the following elements as most effective for reducing SSB consumption: loss-frame text with attribution to a credible source, yellow and red color for label background, and an image or icon to accompany the text. Preferred images included sugar near or inside of an SSB, intuitive shapes like a triangle with exclamation mark or octagon, and a visual indicator of SSB sugar content compared with recommended limits. Support was high for using SSB warning labels in university cafeterias and on bottles/cans. Conclusion: Loss-frame text with a credible source, yellow or red label color, and icons could potentially enhance effectiveness of SSB warning labels and warrant further testing.

scholarly journals A New Method to Monitor the Nutritional Quality of Packaged Foods in the Global Food Supply in Order to Provide Feasible Targets for Reformulation

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 576
Author(s):  
Fabienne Leroy ◽  
Andreas Rytz ◽  
Adam Drewnowski ◽  
Marie Tassy ◽  
Audrey Orengo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Population Level ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Food Category ◽  
Packaged Foods ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Global Food Supply

Nutrient profiling systems, initially designed to promote healthy food choices at the point of sale, can also provide the scientific basis for innovation and product reformulation by the food industry. This work presents a new profiling system to help define feasible nutrient targets for reformulation of packaged foods. The focus is on five key nutrients for which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set population-level goals: sugar, saturated fat, sodium, fiber, and protein. The methodology uses Mintel’s Global New Products Database of packaged foods to (1) identify nutrients relevant to each food category (2) sort products into sub-categories defined by a unique nutritional signature, and (3) develop standards for “best of class” products. For instance, if targeted to be amongst the best 15% of the global food supply, pizza must have less than 4.0 g/100 g saturated fat, less than 520 mg/100 g total sodium and more than 9.8 g/100 g protein. Fiber and sugar are not identified as relevant nutrients for the pizza category and no targets are provided.

scholarly journals Packaged Foods Labeled as Organic Have a More Healthful Profile Than Their Conventional Counterparts, According to Analysis of Products Sold in the U.S. in 2019–2020

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 3020
Author(s):  
Aurora Dawn Meadows ◽  
Sydney A. Swanson ◽  
Thomas M. Galligan ◽  
Olga V. Naidenko ◽  
Nathaniel O’Connell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Sodium Content ◽  
Organic Foods ◽  
Added Sugar ◽  
Packaged Foods ◽  
Conventional Foods ◽  
The U.S

The organic food market’s recent rapid global growth reflects the public’s interest in buying certified organic foods, including packaged products. Our analysis shows that packaged foods containing fewer ingredients associated with negative public health outcomes are more likely to be labeled organic. Previous studies comparing organic and conventional foods focused primarily on nutrient composition. We expanded this research by additionally examining ingredient characteristics, including processing and functional use. Our dataset included nutrition and ingredient data for 8240 organic and 72,205 conventional food products sold in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020. Compared to conventional foods, organic foods in this dataset had lower total sugar, added sugar, saturated fat and sodium content. Using a mixed effects logistic regression, we found that likelihood of classification as organic increased as sodium content, added sugar content and the number of ultra-processed ingredients and cosmetic additives on the product label decreased. Products containing no trans-fat ingredients were more likely to be labeled organic. A product was more likely to be classified “organic” the more potassium it contained. These features of organic foods sold in the U.S. are significant because lower dietary ingestion of ultra-processed foods, added sugar, sodium and trans-fats is associated with improved public health outcomes.

scholarly journals Parental Concerns about Child and Adolescent Caffeinated Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake and Perceived Barriers to Reducing Consumption

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison C. Sylvetsky ◽  
Amanda J. Visek ◽  
Catherine Turvey ◽  
Sabrina Halberg ◽  
Jamie R. Weisenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Parental Concerns ◽  
High Sugar Content ◽  
Widespread Availability

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption contributes to obesity and chronic disease. SSB intake in children and adolescents remains well above recommendations and reducing intake is challenging. In addition to high sugar content, SSBs are the predominant source of caffeine among youth. However, whether caffeine in SSBs presents unique barriers to reducing consumption is unknown. Herein, we examine parental concerns about child caffeinated-SSB (CSSB) intake and describe parent-reported barriers to lowering their child’s consumption. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 parents of children and adolescents 8–17 years of age. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded using Nvivo™, and key themes were identified. Most parents expressed concern about child CSSB consumption, primarily with regard to dietary (e.g., excess sugar), health (e.g., obesity, diabetes) and/or behavioral (e.g., hyperactivity) consequences of frequent intake. Several key barriers to CSSB restriction were reported, encompassing six emergent themes: widespread availability and accessibility; child non-compliance when asked not to drink CSSBs; peer and cultural influences; negative child response to CSSB restriction; family eating behaviors; and, child preferences for CSSBs versus other beverages. Consideration of these barriers, along with the development of novel approaches to address these challenges, will likely bolster success in interventions aimed at reducing CSSB intake among children and adolescents.

scholarly journals Text Messages to Curb Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among Pregnant Women and Mothers: A Mobile Health Randomized Controlled Trial

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 4367
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Woo Baidal ◽  
Kelsey Nichols ◽  
Nalini Charles ◽  
Lauren Chernick ◽  
Ngoc Duong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Warning Labels ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Health Warning ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Content Information

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in childhood obesity in the United States (U.S.) originate in early life. Maternal sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is an early life risk factor for later offspring obesity. The goal of this study was to test the effects of policy-relevant messages delivered by text messages mobile devices (mHealth) on maternal SSB consumption. In this three-arm 1-month randomized controlled trial (RCT), pregnant women or mothers of infants in predominantly Hispanic/Latino New York City neighborhoods were randomized to receive one of three text message sets: graphic beverage health warning labels, beverage sugar content information, or attention control. The main outcome was change in maternal self-reporting of average daily SSB consumption from baseline to one month. Among 262 participants, maternal SSB consumption declined over the 1-month period in all three arms. No intervention effect was detected in primary analyses. In sensitivity analyses accounting for outliers, graphic health warning labels reduced maternal SSB consumption by 28 kcal daily (95% CI: −56, −1). In this mHealth RCT among pregnant women and mothers of infants, graphic health warning labels and beverage sugar content information did not reduce maternal SSB consumption.

scholarly journals Free Sugar Content in Pre-Packaged Products: Does Voluntary Product Reformulation Work in Practice?

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Zupanič ◽  
Maša Hribar ◽  
Nataša Fidler Mis ◽  
Igor Pravst
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Content ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Free Sugar ◽  
Processed Foods ◽  
Sugar Consumption ◽  
Free Sugars ◽  
Packaged Goods ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Packaged Foods ◽  
Sugar Source

Ultra-processed, pre-packaged foods are becoming a growing part of our diet, while displacing whole and minimally processed foods. This results in an increased intake of free sugar, salt, and saturated fats, that have a profoundly negative effect on health. We aimed to assess the trend in free sugar content in pre-packaged foods in Slovenia and evaluate the efficacy of industry self-regulations designed to combat the excess consumption of free sugar. A nation-wide data collection of the Slovenian food supply was performed in 2015 and repeated in 2017. In 2017, 54.5% of all products (n = 21,115) contained free sugars (median: 0.26 g free sugar/100 g). Soft drinks became the main free sugar source among pre-packaged goods (28% of all free sugar sold on the market) in place of chocolates and sweets, of which relative share decreased by 4.4%. In the categories with the highest free sugar share, market-leading brands were often sweeter than the average free sugar value of the category. This indicates that changes in on-shelf availability towards a greater number of healthier, less sweet products are not necessarily reflected in healthier consumers’ choices. Relying solely on voluntary industrial commitments to reduce free sugar consumption will likely not be sufficient to considerably improve public health. While some further improvements might be expected over the longer term, voluntarily commitments are more successful in increasing the availability of healthier alternatives, rather than improving the nutritional composition of the market-leading products. Additional activities are, therefore, needed to stimulate reformulation of the existing market-leading foods and drinks, and to stimulate the consumption of healthier alternatives.

scholarly journals Health Impact and Cost-effectiveness of Volume, Tiered, and Sugar Content Sugar-sweetened Beverage Tax Policies in the US: A Micro-simulation Study (OR28-04-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujin Lee ◽  
Dariush Mozaffarian ◽  
Junxiu Liu ◽  
Stephen Sy ◽  
Shafika Abrahams-Gessel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Added Sugar ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
The Us

Abstract Objectives Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake is linked to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). SSBs taxes are a policy tool to reduce intake, and volume-based taxes have been passed in the US. Yet, the comparative health and economic impacts of volume-based, tiered, or sugar content-based SSB taxes have not been quantified. We aimed to estimate the health and economic impacts of these varying SSB tax designs in the US. Methods A validated microsimulation model, CVD PREDICT, was used to estimate reductions in CVD events, diabetes cases, gains in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), costs, and cost-effectiveness of three SSB tax designs in US adults: (1) volume tax ($0.01/oz), (2) tiered tax (no tax for <5 g of added sugar/8 oz; $0.01/oz for 5–20 g/8 oz; and $0.02/oz for >20 g/8 oz, and (3) sugar content tax ($0.01/tsp of added sugar). Model inputs included national demographic and dietary data from NHANES 2009–2014; policy effects on consumer intakes, industry responses, and SSB-disease effects from meta-analyses; and policy costs (tax implementation, industry reformulation) and health-related costs (formal/informal healthcare costs, productivity costs) from established sources. Findings were evaluated over 10 years and a lifetime, with costs inflated to constant 2018 USD, and costs and QALYs discounted at 3% annually. Results All SSB tax designs were cost-saving from all perspectives, compared to a base-case scenario accounting for voluntary industry reformulation (Table). At 10 years, the volume tax would prevent 0.24 M CVD events, 0.11 M CVD deaths, and 0.03 M diabetes cases, gain 0.22 M QALYs, generate $35.18bn tax revenue, and save $14.45bn in formal healthcare costs. Corresponding values for the tiered tax were 0.46 M, 0.22 M, 0.06 M, 0.42 M, $54.99bn and $27.88bn; and for the sugar content tax, 0.37 M, 0.16 M, 0.05 M, 0.27 M, $19.97bn and $20.54bn. Projected benefits increased over a lifetime, and economic benefits were less from health and societal perspectives, excluding tax revenue. Conclusions Implementing SSB taxes would generate substantial health gains and cost-savings for the US population. Taxing SSBs based on a tiered tax, followed by grams of sugar content, would be a more effective strategy than a volume tax to generate health and economic benefits. Funding Sources NIH, NHLBI. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs

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