Heart Foundation Food Reformulation Programme

For nearly 20 years the Heart Foundation has worked with food manufacturers to improve New Zealanders’ heart health by reducing the levels of salt and sugar in everyday foods. Currently around 760 tonnes of sugar and 335 tonnes of salt are removed each year from targets food categories.

Background

The food we eat has a significant impact on our heart health, with high salt and sugar consumption both linked to heart disease risk.

A high intake of salt (the main source of sodium in our diets) can cause high blood pressure – a leading risk factor for heart disease. New Zealanders currently eat around 9 grams of salt a day, which is more than double the recommended amount and around 75% comes from processed foods.

A high intake of sugar is also linked to heart disease risk factors, including high cholesterol, high triglycerides, type 2 diabetes, and increased body weight. On average, New Zealanders consume around 107 grams of sugar a day (the equivalent to approximately 27 teaspoons), which is more than double the recommended amount. The main sources of added sugars in the New Zealand diet are table sugars and sweets/lollies (23%), non-alcoholic drinks (16%) and muffins, cakes and biscuits (7%)⁵.

Gradually reducing levels of salt and sugar can therefore have a significant impact on the health of New Zealanders.

Heart Foundation Food Reformulation Programme

For over a decade, the Heart Foundation Food Reformulation Programme, funded by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, has supported food companies to lower sodium and sugar levels in processed foods.

The initial focus of the programme was on salt reduction, however, in 2016 the work was expanded to include sugar reduction targets for categories such as breakfast cereals, sauces and yoghurt.

The Heart Foundation engages with food companies to set sodium and sugar targets and support them to meet those targets.

The companies we work with represent over 80% of the market share in each food category, ensuring popular brands and leading-selling foods are prioritised.

Nutrition targets

Currently there are more than 50 targets covering more than 40 food categories in the Food Reformulation Programme.

The targets are specific to each food category, reflecting the technical role that salt and sugar play in different food products.

Food companies are encouraged to reduce levels in a stepwise fashion to minimise noticeable changes for consumers. The targets are used when reformulating existing products and when developing new products.

Setting targets

The programmes targets are voluntary, and we work with companies to ensure they are achievable.

When developing and reviewing nutrition targets and categories, several factors are considered, these include reviewing the New Zealand market data , international reformulation targets such as the Australian Healthy Food Partnership and the World Health Organisation’s Sodium Benchmarks.

Targets need to be relevant to the New Zealand market, achievable and have the support of New Zealand food companies to encourage the strongest uptake.

Current category definitions and targets

The food category definitions and the targets are revised on an ongoing basis to encourage ongoing salt/sugar reduction over time.

Food category definitions

Reformulation targets

Food Reformulation Programme achievements

The Food Reformulation Programme has had a significant impact. Today, approximately 760 tonnes of sugar and 335 tonnes of salt are being removed per year from targeted food products.

There has been great progress with sodium reductions across a wide range of food categories. For example, a 41% reduction in certain types of breakfast cereals, over a 30% sodium reduction across the savoury snacks and cracker categories and a 20% sodium reduction in the ham category.

In addition to improvements across categories, we aim for the top-selling products to meet the sodium reduction targets. For example, the 10 top-selling breads have lowered their sodium content by an average of 27% and the eight top-selling cornflakes/puffed rice breakfast cereals have reduced sodium by 21%.

Sugar targets have been introduced in specific categories, and early progress shows promising sugar reductions across food categories, with some significant reductions of 16-40% in major brands of breakfast cereals, yoghurts, flavoured milk, and cereal bars.

Feedback from our food industry partners

Here are what some of our food companies say about the Food Reformulation programme.

Griffin's

Tracey Seager, Innovation & Sustainability Director - Griffin's, says “The Heart Foundation’s targets have helped us implement changes to a number of our leading products. Sugar levels have been reduced by 20% in some of our most popular Nice & Natural cereal bars and sodium levels reduced by 15 - 20% in some of our popular ETA Chips and Huntley & Palmers Crackers. By making these improvements to our higher selling products, it means we can bring the benefits to many pantries and households across New Zealand.

Fonterra

Renee Milkop-Kerr, Director of Marketing, Fonterra Brands New Zealand says, “In 2019, Fonterra reformulated the recipe of the Fresh’n Fruity yoghurt, Primo and Anchor CalciYum flavoured milks, while continuing to maintain the delicious taste Kiwis have loved for generations. This reformulation resulted in a 40% average reduction of added sugar across the Fresh’n Fruity range and of a 30% average reduction across the Primo and Anchor CalciYum flavoured milks compared to the original recipe.”

Looking to the future

This programme can continue to play a significant role in supporting food companies to undertake food reformulation and reduce sodium and sugar in foods.

It has been estimated that reducing average sodium intake by 20% would save 930 lives in New Zealand each year (Goodall et al 2008 ).

Food reformulation remains a critical tool for food companies to support health. The reformulation of leading selling brands gradually over time means many New Zealanders are getting the benefit of less salt and sugar in the foods they eat.

How to get involved

If you are a food manufacturer and want to know more about participating in the Heart Foundation Food Reformulation Programme, please get in touch to find out more.

Want to know more? Get in touch.