Food Drink Ireland (FDI), formerly Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), is the main trade association for the food and drink industry in Ireland. Reformulation of foods and beverages by the food industry in Ireland is not new and it’s done consistently to improve the nutritional content of various products.
Creme Global used our expertise to help estimate the impact of reformulation and the introduction of new products on the nutrient intakes of the Irish population. Data collection on the changes voluntarily undertaken by the FDI has included the reduction of salt, sugar, fat saturated fat, and calories in their products. This reformulation has been done in a sustained, gradual way to minimise the detection of the reformulation by consumers.
The FDI Evolution of food and drink in Ireland 2005 -2017 report was launched on February 20th by Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec, Linda Stuart-Trainor, Director of Prepared Consumer Foods in FDI, Dr. Pamela Byrne, CEO of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and Cronan McNamara CEO of Creme Global.
The main findings of the report are:
Direct reformulation of products on the market in both 2005 and 2017:
- Sodium reduced by 28%
- Saturated fat reduced by 10.1%
- Sugar reduced by 8%
- Energy reduced by 1.6%
- Total fat reduced by 0.3%
Reductions in sugar intake between 2005 and 2017:
- Adult sugar intake reduced by 0.8g/day
- Teen sugar intake reduced by 2.7g/day
- Child sugar intake reduced by 3.2g/day
- Pre-schooler sugar intake reduced by 2.0g/day
Reductions in saturated fat intake between 2005 and 2017:
- Adult saturated fat intake reduced by 0.5g/day
- Teen saturated fat intake reduced by 0.2g/day
- Child saturated fat intake reduced by 0.2g/day
- Pre-schooler saturated fat intake remained constant
