Kellogg UK has announced it will reduce sugar content in some of its best-selling cereals by 40% as part of a major overhaul to help British consumers make healthier breakfast choices.
As of January 2018, the company will also stop making Ricicles. Sugar in Coco Pops cereal will come down by 40% (from 30 grams per 100g to 17 grams). This is following a reduction of 14% earlier this year, meaning that from 2017 to 2018, it will have halved the sugar in Coco Pops.
Meanwhile sugar in Rice Krispies cereal will be reduced by 20% and Rice Krispies Multi-Grain Shapes cereal will see a 30% reduction in sugar per serving.
It will also no longer run any children’s on-pack promotions on Kellogg’s Frosties, in recognition that this cereal now tends to be eaten by more adults than children in the UK.
The move comes as food companies are under increasing pressure to tackle high levels of sugar in their products to help combat obesity globally. Kellogg was among companies earlier this year to sign up to an agreement with the Swiss government to reduce sugar content in breakfast cereals in the country by the end of 2018.
Kellogg said it will also go further to tackle salt, reducing salt levels in Rice Krispies cereal in the UK by 10% and in Rice Krispies Multi-Grain Shapes cereal by 50%.
The company added that while it does not use artificial colours in the UK, over the next year it will remove all artificial preservatives from its breakfast foods.
Earlier this month it announced the launch of plant-based cereal range called WK Kellogg, which includes no added sugar, low sugar, organic and vegan options.
Kellogg UK managing director Oli Morton said: “Kellogg has a long tradition of helping improve the nation’s diet – from pioneering high fibre foods in the early 1900’s to adding folic acid to our products in the 1970s; from launching a long-term salt reduction plan in the late 1990s to adding vitamin D to all our kid’s cereals in 2000s.
“We know we have a responsibility to continuously improve the nutrition of our food. We recognise, based on national dietary survey data, that people are eating too much sugar at breakfast and throughout the day and that people need more options, such as organic and vegan.
“That’s why today we are announcing more changes to our foods so that we can continue to support people in making better choices. Our shoppers have told us that taste is still important to them so we’ve worked hard to ensure that our new recipes are just as delicious.”
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