Tackling excessive salt, sugar and fat in food fails

The future cabinet must be much more ambitious in tackling the excessive salt, sugar and saturated fat in food, according to the Consumers' Association. The organisation thinks that the Agreement on the improvement of product composition (2014-2020) has delivered too little.

Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers' Association: "The 2014 agreement has delivered too little. In recent years, we have seen time and again in our tests that little progress was made. Vega burgers, pea soup and bouillon cubes that are too salty. Satay sauce that is too sweet and meal replacements. And too fatty lasagnes and frozen pizzas."

Unhealthy fats in vegetable 'cheese'

The most recent surveys by the Consumers' Association show that there is still a lot of work to be done. Consumers' Association: "In a test of 13 brands of young matured 30+ cheese from the supermarket, more than half scored insufficiently for salt. Vegetable 'cheese' does not appear to be a healthy alternative. The 6 brands that the Consumers' Association examined only scored between 2.2 and 4.4. They all contain coconut oil, which contains a lot of unhealthy saturated fat. And half of them are too salty.

Large differences between them

When comparing similar products, it appears that manufacturers can easily use less salt. For example, the AH organic green pesto contains only 0.9 grams of salt per 100 grams, while the Plus Moment pesto contains 4.8 grams of salt. And Quorn Vegetarian minced meat contains only 0.3 grams of salt per 100 grams, while Picnic vegan minced meat contains 1.6 grams.

Research from 2018 showed the same picture for sugar. One manufacturer put 7 sugar cubes in its teriyaki wok sauce, another only 1.5. There were also major differences in similar cereal bars: one contained 7 grams of sugar, the other only 2 grams.

Tough approach

Miller: "Our tests show that manufacturers can make healthier products, but there is hardly any pressure on them to do so. We've been saying for years that more needs to be done. Manufacturers keep coming up with nice promises, but far too little is happening across the board. Now politics really must take action. Strict, legal standards for all product groups. And manufacturers who do not cooperate sufficiently must be firmly tackled. Then it will finally be easier for consumers to reduce their intake of salt, sugar and saturated fat.”

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