The government must control sugar production and imports through the introduction of a marketing quota in order to improve the national diet, researchers argue.
Total sugar consumption in the UK is three times the government recommendation.
So far, policies to reduce consumption have focused on the manufacturers and consumers of food and drinks.
However, attention to the supply of sugar has been missing. The Food Research Collaboration has now urged action to control sugar through agriculture and trade policies once the UK leaves the EU.
Their new briefing argues that policy instruments such as the restriction of price promotions or advertisements of products that are high in sugar need to be complemented by supply-side measures.
These would reduce the availability and affordability of sugar to the food and drink industry. Such policies have the potential to widen and strengthen the sugar reduction agenda, say the researchers.
Dr Ben Richardson from Warwick University said: “Sugar supply in the UK has been governed by EU regulations on agriculture and trade. As a result of Brexit, new agricultural and trade policy in the UK will not only be possible but necessary.
“Government needs to take this opportunity to restrict the supply of sugar to large manufacturers and instead support the provision of healthier food and drink”.
'Minimum price'
EU agricultural and trade policies have become increasingly orientated to the demands of food and drink manufacturers, ensuring them wider access to cheaper sources of sugar and sweetener. The price of sugar in the EU has now fallen to its lowest level on record.
The briefing recommends policies to encourage large food and drink manufacturers to use less sugar in individual products and across their product portfolio as a whole.
The authors propose controls on sugar production and imports through the introduction of a marketing quota; a quantitative limit on the amount of sugar that can be sold within a given market.
Furthermore, they recommend bringing back a ‘minimum price’ for sugar, which could be used to promote public health by incrementally raising prices to food and drink manufacturers to encourage reformulation, as well as changing the way that farm subsidies are allocated.
Jack Winkler, Emeritus Professor at London Metropolitan University said: “Currently, Defra is trying to raise the production of sugar, while Public Health England is trying to lower its consumption.
“We need a “joined up” sugar policy. Adopting our proposals for new agriculture policies would create one”.
