Nestle to cut sugar content in its confectionary products by 10%

Nestle plans to cut sugar content in its confectionary products for UK and Ireland by 10 per cent, the company announced yesterday.

The move, which would result in cutting 7,500 tonnes of sugar across its products, would be implemented by 2018, according to the company.

Nestle will replace sugar with additional quantities of existing ingredients or other, non-artificial ingredients and ensure that the final products, as a result of this change, would meet its criteria of being below a certain amount of calories.

Nestle's announcement comes after the UK government expressed concern over the high sugar content of the diet of UK citizens. Rising obesity levels were costing the National Health Service (NHS) £5 billion a year, a figure that was expected to hit £9.7 billion by 2050.

Commenting on the latest announcement, Fiona Kendrick, chairman of Nestle UK and Ireland said, "Our confectionery brands have been enjoyed in the UK for more than a century and we know that if we can improve these products nutritionally, provide more choice and information for the consumer, together with other categories, we can have a significant impact on public health, International Business Times reported.

"Making these improvements to our products is key to us delivering better choices for our consumers while retaining the same great taste that they know and love."

The move had been welcomed by health campaigners, but fans were concerned over changing taste from the recipe change.

Sugar content of chocolate varies but in milk chocolate it is typically around 50 per cent, in white around 60 per cent and in dark, it ranged between 40 per cent and zero per cent.

Duncan Selbie, head of Public Health England, said: ''Nestlé is the latest household name to commit to making everyday products healthier and we're delighted this is just the start of its efforts, The Sun reported.

''This sends a clear message that reducing sugar in food is possible, even in products that are typically harder to reformulate.''