Packaged food and drinks should have easy-to-read nutritional information on the front of the products to help consumers make healthier choices, according to the first-ever World Health Organisation draft guidelines that stopped short of recommending harsher warning labels.
Increased consumption of processed foods high in salt, sugar and fat is a key driver of a global obesity crisis, with more than a billion people living with the condition and an estimated eight million early deaths every year due to associated health problems like diabetes and heart disease, WHO data shows.
Yet governments have struggled to introduce policies to curb the epidemic. Currently, only 43 WHO member states have any kind of front-of-package labelling either mandatory or voluntary, the UN agency told Reuters, despite evidence showing labels can affect buying behaviour. The WHO began work on the draft guidelines, which have not been previously reported, in 2019. They aim “to support consumers in making healthier food-related decisions,” Katrin Engelhardt, a scientist in the Nutrition and Food Safety department of the WHO, told Reuters by email.
A public consultation on the guidelines closed on 11 October and the finalised version will be released in early 2025.
The WHO’s guidance recommends governments implement “interpretive” labels that include nutritional information and some explanation of what that means about the healthiness of a product.
An example would be NutriScore, developed in France and used in a number of European countries, which ranks food from A (green, containing essential nutrients) to E (red, containing high levels of added salts, sugars, fats or calories).
Chile and several other countries in Latin America use a tougher system, with warnings that a food is "high in sugar", salt or fat on the front of the package, in a black octagon that resembles a stop sign.
Food labelling expert Lindsey Smith Taillie, co-director of the Global Food Research Program at the University of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said the food industry has pushed back against warnings and favours “non-interpretive” labels, which include the nutrient information but no guide on how to understand what that means, such as those used in the US. This week, US senator Bernie Sanders announced plans for a Senate hearing on tougher food labelling in December. While the WHO recommendation goes a step further than the industry’s preference, it “is fairly weak,” Taillie said.
“The most important thing for most countries globally is going to be to limit excess intake of added sugars, sodium, saturated fat and ultra-processed foods more generally – which is what warning labels do best."
Research this summer by Taillie showed Chile’s warning labels, alongside other policies like marketing restrictions to children, meant Chileans bought 37 per cent less sugar, 22 per cent less sodium, 16 per cent less saturated fat and 23 per cent fewer total calories compared to if the law had not been implemented.
The WHO said there was not enough evidence to determine the best label system.
The International Food and Beverage Alliance, whose members include The Coca Cola Company and Mondelez International Inc, said that its members already have minimum worldwide standards globally. They include listing nutrients on the back of packages, plus a front of pack detail on at least the energy content where practicable, in line with the international Codex Alimentarius system.
“This is something global companies can do, but it’s clearly not enough because if you take Nigeria or Pakistan … the market is dominated by local producers,” said Rocco Renaldi, the IFBA’s Secretary-General. He said the alliance’s members broadly support the WHO’s guidelines and nutrient-based labels.
“But the devil is in the detail – generally speaking, we don’t support approaches that demonise particular products,” he said. “We don’t think health-warning type labels belong on food products that are deemed safe, approved and on the market, and loved by consumers.”
Phil Whitehead has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the EMEA & APAC division of Molson Coors Beverage Company.
Whitehead has been Managing Director of the company’s Western Europe region for the past eight years and prior to this was European Supply Chain Director. He will continue to lead the Western Europe business until a successor is appointed.
Starting in the UK and Ireland business back in 2006, Whitehead has worked his way up the ranks over his tenure with the international brewer. During his time as Western Europe Managing Director, he has led for the continued growth of powerhouse brands like Carling and Coors, as well as the premiumisation and diversification of the company’s portfolio with world beer brands including Staropramen, Cobra and Madri Excepcional. As the brewer expanded beyond the beer aisle, Whitehead oversaw the acquisition of Aspall Cyder in 2019 and a distribution partnership with Rekorderlig Cider in the UK.
Commenting on his appointment, Molson Coors Global President & Chief Executive Officer Gavin Hattersley said: “Throughout his time with our business, Phil has proven himself to be the kind of smart and strategic business leader who is capable of driving successful results for our business. I am confident Phil will put his strong combination of leadership traits to work to the benefit of our EMEA & APAC business, and all of Molson Coors.”
A former Chair of the British Beer and Pub Association and strong advocate for the beer and hospitality industry in the UK, Whitehead said of his new appointment: “It has been an absolute honour to have led our Western Europe business over the past eight years. I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked with a fantastic local team and alongside great customers and peers as part of our wider brewing industry.
“I look forward to taking this next step with a company I am incredibly proud has been my home over the past 18 years, and continuing to work alongside my EMEA & APAC and global colleagues to drive the successful growth of our business.”
Commons Business and Trade Committee has called for legally binding timeframes on Government at each stage of processing claims under the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, backed by financial penalties awarded to the claimant if the deadlines are missed.
As mentioned in the report titled "Post Office and Horizon scandal redress: Unfinished business" released by Commons Business and Trade Committee on Wednesday (1), just £499 million of the £1.8 billion set aside for financial redress has been paid out across the four redress schemes, with 72 per cent of the budget for redress still not paid.
In the case of the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, 14 per cent of those who applied before the original 2020 deadline have still not settled their claims.
The Committee found that the “schemes are so poorly designed that the application process is akin to a second trial for victims” with an excessive burden placed on claimants to answer complex requests for information about their losses in the scandal, and delays processing those requests and disclosures back from the Post Office.
On the scheme administrators’ side, legal advice has been extensive and costly. To date, Post Office Ltd has spent £136 million on legal fees relating to the redress schemes, including £82 million to just one firm, Herbert Smith Freehills, for services including their legal advice on the HSS and Overturned Convictions Scheme.
Victims however have been offered no legal advice up-front in submitting their claims, despite being required to grapple complex legal concepts about the amount of redress they were owed.
The committee also mentioned that many years had passed and the victims no longer had access to the financial records of where Horizon’s systemic errors had occurred. The Committee says it is “imperative” now that claimants are offered legal advice up front, at no cost to themselves but paid for by the scheme administrators.
Chair of the BTC Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP said, “Years on from the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, thousands of Post Office Horizon victims still don’t have the redress to which they’re entitled for the shatter and ruin of their lives.
“Ours is a nation that believes in fair play and the rule of law. Yet victims told us that seeking the redress to which they’re entitled is akin to a second trial. Payments are so slow that people are dying before they get justice. But the lawyers are walking away with millions.
“This is quite simply, wrong, wrong, wrong.
"The government has made important steps forward. Almost half a billion pounds of redress payments are now out the door, the budget has gone up to being fully funded and the Post Office was ordered to write to everyone who might be owed something for what happened to them.
“But we can’t go on like this. Justice delayed is justice denied. So today, we’re setting out a practical, common-sense plan to reboot the redress system.
“Victims should have upfront legal advice to help make sure they get what’s fair. We need hard deadlines for government lawyers to approve the claims with financial penalties for taking too long. Crucially, we need the Post Office, which caused this scandal in the first place, taken out of the picture.”
The Committee calls on Government to remove the Post Office from administering any of the redress schemes and to introduce binding timeframes for scheme administrators at each individual stage of each scheme, with financial penalties passed on to the claimant if these deadlines are not met.
The MPs have also asked the Government to appoint an independent adjudicator for each scheme and empower them to provide directions and case management to ensure claimants move through the process swiftly.
The Government is also called on to provide clear, strong instructions to taxpayer-funded lawyers to maximise the speed of redress, eliminate legal delays, enhance the benefit of doubt given to claimants, and publish the costs spent on lawyers for the public and Parliament to see.
The majority of UK households are heading into 2025 feeling financially secure, but more people think the health of the economy is worsening than improving, a recent report has shown.According to KPMG UK’s Consumer Pulse survey, nearly three times more people feel secure (fifty-seven percent) than insecure (twenty-one percent) about their financial situation.
While the picture for financial security is largely positive, consumer opinion regarding the health of the UK economy was more mixed – with four in ten consumers saying the economy is worsening, compared to a quarter saying it’s improving.
Pessimism about the UK economy is highest among two-thirds of those aged sixty-five and over, with those aged 25-34 the most optimistic. Regionally, London is the most upbeat, with the North East the most downbeat about the economy.
A wage rise would be the most likely reason to increase an individual’s spending beyond 2024’s levels.
A third of consumers say that retailer promotional events could convince them to part with more money during the course of the year, with a quarter saying improved loyalty scheme prices would.
Reflecting upon the findings, Linda Ellett, head of consumer, retail and leisure for KPMG UK, said, “Whether due to confidence in their ability to spend or their ability to manage household bills, it is positive news that the majority of UK households are heading into 2025 feeling financially secure.
“Despite four in ten people saying the UK economy is worsening, a higher amount than those thinking it is improving, planned spending on big ticket items over the next twelve months looks healthy. Whether that spend comes to fruition will depend on a range of factors, including continued reduction in interest rates and whether perception about economic worsening becomes a reality in the form of increased job insecurity.”
Comparing their spending in the last three months (Sept, Oct, Nov) to the previous (June, July, Aug), groceries was the number one category for those spending more money while eating out was the activity consumers most commonly spent less money on.
A quarter of consumers reported buying promotional or discounted items more over the last three months, while half of consumers said they bought big ticket items – most commonly on a holiday, followed by household appliances.
Price was the top purchasing driver for both everyday purchases and one-off higher cost items.
Ellett added, “Promotional periods and the value consumers place on loyalty pricing throughout the year have all demonstrated that shoppers remain savvy when it comes to searching out better deals.
"This will continue in 2025 and our research shows that up to a third of consumers may increase their overall spending levels if retailer offers are sufficiently appealing to them.
"Retailers will be looking to capitalise on this by using customer data and AI to ensure offer targeting is increasingly personalised in the coming twelve months.”
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Vape products are displayed for sale on October 27, 2024 in London, England
The Scottish Government has been urged to introduce a robust licensing system for vape and tobacco sales as part of its regulatory strategy.
Currently, retailers in Scotland are only required to register to sell tobacco and vaping products, with no licensing fees and limited enforcement mechanisms.
Gillian Mackay, the Scottish Green health spokesperson, argued that this lenient system has enabled vape sales to proliferate in unconventional locations such as barbers and phone shops.
Mackay is advocating for a licensing framework similar to alcohol sales, where local councils have the authority to refuse licenses and impose stricter penalties on non-compliant retailers. Unlike the current system, which relies on fixed penalty notices with limited financial impact, the proposed scheme would involve more stringent repercussions, including the potential for license revocation.
“The tobacco and vaping industries are doing a huge amount of damage to the health of people in Scotland and beyond, yet they remain very poorly regulated,” Mackay said. “A robust licensing scheme can tip the balance and ensure that we are taking action to put health before the profits of an industry which all too often targets young people and encourages addictive and harmful behaviours.”
Mackay highlighted the forthcoming ban on disposable vapes as a critical milestone for public health. However, she added that retailers must also contribute by providing recycling points and services, potentially as a condition of their license.
“Local authorities should have the power to refuse licences and introduce proper repercussions including the removal of a licence for retailers who flout the rules,” Mackay said. “We also need retailers to play their part by making their licence conditional on providing recycling points and services.”
Additionally, she proposed that a licensing fee could not only cover administrative costs but also generate revenue for local councils to support essential services.
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Totally Wicked store at its head office in Blackburn
Vaping firm Totally Wicked has reported a pre-tax profit of £8.1 million for the financial year ending March 31, 2024, more than doubling its previous year’s profit of £3.3 million.
The Lancashire-based company said the “continuing growth” of single use vapes, particularly in convenience and grocery channels, has been a “disproportionate driver” of the strong growth, with turnover also surging to £118.1 million, up from £90.4 million the prior year and £54.4 million in 2022, according to its latest filing to the Companies House.
The financial results, however, come as the UK government confirmed in October 2024 that the sale of single-use disposable vapes will be prohibited from June 2025 in the UK. Additionally, a vaping products duty of £2.20 per milliliter of e-liquid is set to be introduced from October 1, 2026.
Addressing the upcoming regulatory changes, Totally Wicked stated: “There are concerns that introducing so many new regulations at once could adversely impact smokers and former smokers by restricting access to vaping products, potentially leading to increased tobacco use. However, we believe the combination of the licensing scheme and the new tobacco vaping duty will result in enhanced HMRC enforcement against illegitimate sellers, creating significant opportunities for legitimate operators like Totally Wicked.”
The company’s UK turnover climbed from £77 million to £96.9 million, while European turnover rose from £12.9 million to £20.8 million. However, sales in other regions declined slightly, falling from £441,696 to £396,079.
Segment-wise, wholesale turnover increased sharply from £53.8 million to £76.4 million, and retail turnover grew from £16 million to £18.9 million. Online and telephone sales also showed growth, rising from £20.6 million to £22.7 million. To support its expanding operations, the company’s headcount increased from 372 to 411 during the year.
In a statement, the board noted a shift in consumer preferences toward cost-effective and environmentally sustainable vaping solutions. “Our owned channels to market have enabled customers to transition to more sustainable products and strategically advantageous branded propositions earlier than would be possible through third-party routes,” the statement said.