SOUTH AFRICA – Pioneer Foods, one of the giant FMCG industries, has developed interest in reducing salts and sugars of products in the market.
As part of the voluntary healthy food options industry initiative, coordinated by the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, Pioneer Foods is making an effort to control the rate of non-communicable diseases.
“While government, consumers and industry bodies have an important role to play in ensuring food safety and quality, it is the food producers who are ultimately responsible for implementing food control legislation.
This requires significant investment in resources and continuous oversight of the manufacture and processing of foods from raw materials to the finished product on the retail shelves,” says Pioneer business executive, Martin Neethling.
According to Pioneer Foods’ portfolio, reduced sugar and salt intake is important to help reduce the non-communicable diseases.
They have continually been developing and implementing low sugar content products.
For instance, Lipton’s Iced Tea has 30% sugar reduction, brands like Ceres Nectar and Ceres Squash have reductions of between 40 and 60%.
Pioneer Foods have also reduced their packaging sizes to help consumers reduce their kilojoule intake.
Salt reduction in bread, margarine, butter, cereals and processed meat has also been made to a 15% reduction.
Martin concludes that, “We believe in open and transparent communication and we will continue to engage with our consumers and advise them of any changes to our products so that they can make their own informed decisions for a healthy lifestyle”
August 24, 2017
