As the debate surrounding the possibility of a sugar tax in New Zealand intensifies, industry groups stand firmly against it, whereas some academics and consumers are gunning for it. Here we provide the lowdown on the current state of the debate.
By Rachel Arthur, Elaine Watson, Stephen Daniells, Gary Scattergood, Niamh Michail
Sugar taxes continue to hit the headlines, but the introduction of new legislation is never straight-forward. We take a look at 20 countries around the globe where sugar taxes have been in the news.
Malaysia will impose an excise sugar tax on sugar-sweetened beverages starting April 1 2019, in an effort to combat rising overweight and obesity levels in the country - but experts are less than optimistic about its efficacy.
Addressing a growing consumer need for organic and affordablekids products that are lower in sugar, Villager Goods’ newly-launched brand Little Villager will be hitting shelves at 300 Target locations as well as online through Target.com.
Fiscal incentives like a sugar tax and lower-sugar subsidies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption are unlikely to be effective, a new Singapore study reveals.
Coca-Cola Australia has emphasised that its latest release, the coffee-cola combination Batch Blends, is designed for the 'adult palate', and is fully in line with its sugar reduction health targets.
A 'graded sugar tax model' has been suggested by an expert analyst as an alternative to just soda or sugar taxes in Malaysia's battle against sugar over-consumption.
A Hungarian company is bringing sorghum syrup to Europe for the first time, a liquid sweetener with a caramel flavour that can be used across food and beverage categories.
Academics in Australia have called into question the lack of regulation for soft drink firms which market to youngsters via social media, arguing that "many young people aged below 13 years are being exposed to a large amount of unhealthy food and...
Following the Australian beverage industry's recent commitment to a 20% sugar reduction across its portfolio by 2025, New Zealand's drinks sector says it is open to similar measures.
Recent changes to California Proposition 65 – also called the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act – that go into effect in August 2018 will require beverage companies to call out specific chemical names in addition to a warning symbol.
Plans by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to ban sales of sugar-sweetened drinks in hospitals in England have been backed by the British Soft Drink Association (BSDA), who praised the decision to include all sugar-added drinks.
‘This is a breakthrough product that could ultimately make sugar obsolete'
The term ‘game-changer’ is bandied around with wearying regularity by food start-ups, but HEYLO – a patented combination of acacia fiber and stevia promising to blow rivals out of the water in the sugar replacement stakes – may actually warrant this moniker,...
It's the ‘gold standard’ for sweetness, competitors use it and artificial sweeteners aren’t clean label. Unfortunately, there are more incentives to make sugary food in Europe than there are to avoid it, says a World Health Organisation (WHO) report,...
Alkaline water brand Flow is set to launch an organic flavored water line this December, aimed at satisfying the growing consumer demand for premium water products.
Bottled water volume sales are seeing continued strong growth, driven by consumers' search for alternatives to sugary drinks. And these trends are benefiting the flavored water category, according to Comax Flavors.
Sugar industry body CEDUS Le Sucre has attacked what it described as “unacceptable” and “damaging” moves from the French government to “scapegoat” the sugar industry as legislators put in place moves to amend the country’s sugar tax.
Beverage startup Poppilu hopes its antioxidant lemonade can establish a strong foothold in the Midwest region where it sources its powerhouse ingredient for its lemonade products, the Aronia berry.
WILD Flavors & Specialty Ingredients (WFSI) has expanded its portfolio of sweetening solutions to offer sweeteners that when combined with certain flavors and texturants ingredients can deliver a similar mouthfeel to full-sugar beverages, the company...
Love Taste Co. started as a smoothie stall in London’s Borough Market. Today, it generates retail sales approaching £40m a year. Founder Richard Canterbury talks growth, flavour trends and the “explosion” in demand for vegetable-based smoothies.
At the end of the month, the EU sugar regime will end, liberalising the market after nearly 50 years of production quotas. But one MEP is questioning whether the Commission has considered the impact on Europeans’ health as manufacturers switch to isoglucose.
Singapore’s biggest beverage brand has begun reformulating its drinks to reduce their sugar content, and has called on the government to take wider action against lifestyle diseases.
Major drinks companies in Singapore - including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé - have agreed to limit the sugar content of their drinks, committing to a maximum sugar content of 12% in all their drinks by 2020.
A greater metabolic response to a sweet-tasting, lower-calorie drink could explain the link between artificial sweetener use and diabetes, according to Yale University scientists.
Thailand will phase in a sugar tax over six years in a bid to help drinks manufacturers to lower their sugar content and take advantage of a simultaneous lowering of tax on sugar-free beverages.
Koia, a refrigerated RTD plant-based protein beverage company, has secured a $7.5m funding round led by private investment firm KarpReilly and existing investor AccelFoods.
Sugar reduction is a trend among most consumers (84%), with millennials leading the charge citing more reasons than older consumers for following the health trend, according Mintel.
FlavorHealth has found that most consumers will pick an indulgent beverage over a better-for-you option when given the choice, even when they say trends like sugar reduction are among their top health concerns.
The Estonian Parliament are to introduce a levy to limit the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks to try to rein in rising cases of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Today’s health conscious consumers put great emphasis on natural and low calorie: opening up more and more opportunities for stevia, particularly in beverages. But giving consumers confidence will be key to driving stevia's continued growth, according...
Role Tea, a turmeric-based RTD iced tea, has launched in select Whole Foods locations in the mid-Atlantic US and aims to double and possibly triple its Whole Foods retail footprint by June 2017.
The world is getting fatter and unhealthier - are smaller portions and diet drinks really going to help when they sit next to full-sugar, supersized products? Is it time to tax or is industry doing enough? Catch the highlights from our live debate.
“When consumers are asked an open-ended question, ‘What are you trying to avoid,’ the top three out of four answers are related to a sweetener,” Andy Ohmes, global director of high intensity sweeteners at Cargill, told FoodNavigator-USA.
A 20% sugar cut across all food categories by 2020 – as per voluntary targets set by the UK government – is not technically possible, nor would it be acceptable to consumers, industry lobby the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has said.
While many health-conscious consumers are ditching fruit juice due to concerns over high sugar content, Tampico Beverages has still maintained its core consumer: value-conscious shoppers.
Children’s drink manufacturer Appy Food & Drinks has been told to stop referring to its juice as “100%” natural as they contain calcium lactate and glucose-fructose syrup by the UK’s advertising watchdog.
PepsiCo says it is eyeing up the ‘next generation’ of soda – which it describes as ‘modernized soft drinks with bubbles, unique flavors and lower calorie counts’ – as it rolls out IZZE Fusions and Lemon Lemon in the US.
Drinks sweetened with high-Reb A stevia may have similar or higher satisfaction ratings than sucrose drinks, but added fibre lowers scores, according to a new sensory and sensation-focused study.
Döhler has launched a range of gummies and jellies based on 100% ingredients from fruit such as pectin from apple, juice concentrate, and fruit sugars instead of sucrose or glucose syrup.
Switching to a ‘healthier’ low calorie sugar may not lessen the risk of developing health conditions as trials comparing two common sugars found other factors involved in long-term health risks.
