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14 August 2006
ACFM response to the Royal College of Physicians statement on salt and nutritional labelling
The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM) supports the objective of the Royal College of Physician's Faculty of Public Health to advance the health of the nation through improved diets for children and adults.
With regards to salt, breakfast cereals contribute less than 5% salt to the overall diet1 . In addition, members of the ACFM have achieved a 33% reduction in salt2 from 1998 to 2005. This includes a 15% reduction made between 2003 and 2005. The latest figures mean that breakfast cereals now on average contain less than 0.4g of sodium per 100g, which nutritionists agree is a nutritionally insignificant amount.
In a letter to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Department of Health (DH), the ACFM outlined that its members will continue to look at their product formulations and conduct consumer testing to ensure that consumer preferences are met. This is part of a wider commitment to improve consumers' health through a balanced diet and active lifestyle.
A spokesperson for the ACFM commented:
"Members of ACFM offer a very wide range of products of different composition with/without salt, with/without sugar, wholegrain, high fibre and low fat. In line with the Government's pledge to provide better information to help consumers make healthier food choices, all breakfast cereal manufacturers include comprehensive nutritional information on their packs. Several cereal manufacturers have already adopted the use of Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs), which have proven effective in ensuring nutritional information is easy to read at a glance and increases consumer awareness of the link between diet and health. This is also supported by dietitians and nutritionists."
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For further information contact the BCIS Team on:
Tel: 020 7815 3900
Email: info@breakfastcereal.org
Notes to Editor:
. The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers (ACFM) is the trade association of the UK's leading breakfast cereal manufacturers. Members of the ACFM are Cereal Partners, Dailycer, Jordans, Kellogg's, Morning Foods, Quaker, and Weetabix.
. All ACFM members already include comprehensive nutritional information on packs, informing consumers of the amount of energy, fat, protein, carbohydrate (including sugars), fibre and sodium (including salt) within breakfast cereals.
. Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) enables consumers to make informed choice on balancing their diet by identifying the official recommended guideline levels for key nutrients and calories they consume each day.
. The latest salt reduction figures are sales weighted averages for branded breakfast cereals
References
1 Henderson et al. (2003) National Diet & Nutrition Survey: Adults Aged 18-64yrs. Volume 1. London. The Stationery Office
2Measured as sodium
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