Sugar, salt and saturated fat 2018

The Dutch government increasingly wants consumers to be able to choose healthy products easily. That is why it is encouraged to make agreements about the maximum amount of salt, sugar and saturated fat in food products. The number of products that complied with these agreements in 2018 is variable. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the RIVM using data from the Foodstuffs Database (Levensmiddelenbank).

The agreements on the use of these foodstuffs are set out in the Product Composition Improvement Agreement. However, the government wants to make products even healthier, perhaps by making agreements for more products or by making the current agreements stricter.

Not everything can be checked

In 2018, manufacturers of processed meats used the maximum amount of salt or less for 85% of their products. The agreements were also complied in 58% of the meat preserves. In addition, manufacturers complied with the agreements for 68% of soups and broths and 71% of sauces. The maximum amount of saturated fat or less was found in 94% of processed meats and 72% of cakes with margarine. However, the information may vary because some products are based on the added sugars, while information is only available on the total sugar content of the product.

New way of working

In 2018, RIVM developed a new working method to follow the product composition. This involves the use of data from the Foodstuffs Database. For this purpose, product data are supplied by supermarkets and manufacturers. In this way a lot more data is available about the product. The new method will be used in the coming years to monitor the product composition.

View the full report here. (Dutch only)