Food Drink Ireland (FDI) member companies, producing a wide variety of products, have been at the cutting edge of food reformulation for decades. They are working to reduce the levels of calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt in products, both at company level and in collaboration with stakeholders, such as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). FDI has consistently supported the work of the FSAI and the Food Reformulation Task Force (FRTF) and has engaged actively and meaningfully as they work to monitor and implement the Roadmap for Food Product Reformulation (2021-2025). This engagement is ongoing, through bilateral and product category meetings, consultation responses, and awareness raising with industry.
The food and drink industry has shown its commitment over many years to investing in the research and development of healthier products which meet consumers’ needs, without compromising taste or product safety. Many FDI members have proactively introduced various company-level initiatives in respect of reformulation and nutrient levels, including through recipe changes, new product development (NPD), and bringing a greater product choice to the market – thereby facilitating consumers in making the most appropriate choices, as part of a balanced diet.
This continuous cycle of voluntary reformulation complements the work of the Department of Health and the FSAI FRTF. The 2023 progress report from the FRTF’s reformulation monitoring programme (2023) reported that “excellent progress has been made in some food categories, such as breakfast cereal and yoghurt, likely due to the early engagement and commitment to reformulation shown by these manufacturers”. Industry has valuable experiences, data and perspectives to bring to the discussions on the future of reformulation in Ireland. FDI believes that the Irish Government must bring together all stakeholders to collaboratively plan for the next phase of this work, beyond the end of the current Reformulation Roadmap. This approach would also highlight ways that government could further support reformulation efforts by industry, in particular SMEs, through dedicated funding, policy alignment across departments and positive profiling of the sector’s achievements.
For more information on the background of the food and drink industry efforts around food reformulation, you will find:
- FDI ‘Reformulation – Sector priorities for future success' (2019) booklet
- FDI ‘The evolution of food and drink in Ireland 2005-2017' (2019)
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