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Brazil to cut 144,000 tons of sugar from food and beverages
In all, the agreement includes 68 industries that account for 87% of the country's food and beverage market - Photo: Tony Winston/Agência Brasilia
A compromise agreement signed this Monday between the Brazilian federal government and entities representing the national food and beverage industry provides for the voluntary removal of 144,600 tons of sugar from products manufactured in the country by 2022.
The agreement makes Brazil one of the first countries in the world to seek this decrease. According to the Brazilian Association of Food Industries (Abia), the voluntary sugar content reduction will affect 23 product categories in five main groups: sweetened beverages, biscuits, ready-made cakes and cake mixes, powdered chocolate and dairy products.
In addition to Abia, the Brazilian Association of Soft Drinks and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (Abir), the Brazilian Association of Biscuit, Pasta and Industrialised Breads and Cakes Industries (Abimapi) and the Brazilian Dairy Association (Viva Lácetos) are also co-signatories. Altogether, 68 industries are part of the agreement, representing 87% of the country's food and beverages market.
Salt and fat
This is not the first time government and industry have come together to make processed foods healthier. An agreement signed in 2011 provided for the removal of 28,500 tons of salt from food by 2020, with 17.2 thousand tons already removed as of last year. Another agreement, in force between 2008 and 2010, removed 310,000 tons of trans fat from industrialised foods in the country.
William Dib, president of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), assesses that the agreement is an example of industry’s self-regulating capacity. "This agreement is a great example, as was the one for the reduction of sodium content. It is a fundamental programme for the health of our population and an example to be followed. " Anvisa will be responsible for monitoring reduction levels every two years.
The agreement is "an important step in the healthcare agenda," according to Abir president Alexandre Jobim. "It is an unprecedented agreement in the world, the result of agreement between the private and public sectors.”