Food industry pushes back on WHO guidance for products with added colour, sweeteners

The World Health Organisation has released draft guidelines urging governments to regulate foods with added colours, flavours and sweeteners to curb diet-related illnesses. This draft, the first time the UN health agency has included such ingredients in its guidance, suggests that governments consider regulating products to be consumed moderately, potentially implementing measures like warning labels or taxes.

The draft aims to identify which foods should be eaten sparingly and which might require extra attention from policymakers.

Katrin Engelhardt, a technical officer at the WHO's department of nutrition and food safety, explained that the draft goes beyond traditional nutrient profiling by also considering other aspects of food formulation to prevent diet-related diseases. Every year, around 11 million deaths are attributed to unhealthy diets, according to the agency.

The International Food and Beverage Alliance, a collective of major multinational food and beverage companies, expressed concern that the proposed model might shift focus away from nutritional quality and could potentially capture a wider range of products for possible regulation. They are worried about the potential to undermine established nutrition priorities and reformulation efforts.

Other concerns for the food industry include higher costs associated with reformulating products, stringent labeling requirements, and the risk of costly legal actions and higher taxes for processed food companies.

The WHO's proposal is open for public consultation until November 27. It seeks to guide member states through the complex and often polarised debate surrounding ultra-processed foods - a category of food and drink made using industrial processing techniques and additives, which often lack whole food components.