The Maltese soft drinks industry has announced it will reduce added sugars in its products by 10 per cent by 2020, as part of a recent European soft drink industry 10 per cent sugar reduction commitment.

This initiative responds to changing consumer preferences and calls from member states and the European Commission for a coordinated approach to reformulation and sugar reduction.

In soft drinks, reduction in added sugars leads to reduced calories. To reach its target, the soft drinks sector in Malta – which includes brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Kinnie – will:

• Reformulate existing products including the use of low-calorie sweeteners.

• Innovate to introduce new products with no or reduced sugar and low-calorie sweeteners.

• Increase the availability of smaller pack sizes to allow portion control and moderation.

• Invest in the promotion of drinks with reduced or no sugar to educate and actively encourage consumer choice towards low- and no-calorie products.

• Monitor the progress of added sugar reduction using independent external research and share the results with stakeholders.

[attach id=563594 size="large"][/attach]

The soft drinks industry is the first sector to come forward with a commitment in response to the EU’s general 10 per cent added sugar reduction target.

The industry is already actively working with local governments and stakeholders across Europe in driving sugar reduction and looks forward to continuing these efforts tailored to local situations and needs.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.