I always do my Nutrition News feature on a Friday, but it seems SINCE (and during) Friday we’ve also had further breaking news stories that I wanted to share with my readers.
Firstly we heard…
France taking action on Food Waste!
In the UK as well as worldwide, we have an issue with food waste! We throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink, which costs roughly around £12.5bn a year, and that’s just in our homes! Another big contribution to food waste also comes from the supermarkets which are estimated to contribute another 4 million tonnes of food waste each year!
Crucially this is at a time when we also have increasing needs for food banks and many people living below the breadline and in poverty.
Does is not seem mad to throw away food when some people can’t even afford to buy it?
However, the news this week revealed that the French Government have decided enough is enough, and have pledged to force supermarkets to give any unsold, edible food to charities or put it towards animal feeds. Certainly a smart and welcomed decision!
On the back of this, a campaign urging our own supermarkets in the UK to do the same has gone viral. Put your name down to encourage David Cameron to follow suite by signing this petition.
For more information on Food Waste, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website where you’ll find recipes, quizzes and some wonderful infographics explaining the problem of food waste and how you can help to reduce your share of it!
Secondly we heard…
Tesco cutting sugar content of soft drinks!
This is another welcomed and breaking-news change, as recent media has highlighted the enormous levels of sugar in some food and beverages, with some soft drinks containing up to 11 teaspoons of sugar – which is 1 teaspoon short of the Government’s recommended maximum intake (12 teaspoons).
Tesco have promised to make incremental changes with a 5% reduction year on year. Although this may sound small, it’s actually the best way to make public health changes as it will allow the reduction of sugar in these drinks to go virtually undetected as people’s taste buds adapt to subtle changes in these drinks, over time.
This action from Tesco is also hoped to bring about changes in other supermarkets and industry leaders, who are expected to follow suite in support of their commitment to improving public health. This is also a timely change as it comes at a time when the World Cancer Research Fund released their own policy brief with recommendations on ways we can help curb sugar consumption.
