Lidl Ireland has announced that it is committing to reducing the sugar content and salt levels in its own-brand products by 2020.
The discount retailer said that over 850 own-brand products, 30% of its product range, are currently being assessed.
Lidl outlined its strategy for reducing the sugar and salt content in its products in its recent Health and Nutrition Policy.
Healthier Options
“Promoting and providing healthier food options for our customers is something we are passionate about at Lidl Ireland and we are proud to be leading the way in the Irish retail market with our significant commitments,” Liam Casey, Commercial Director at Lidl Ireland said.
“Our recent Health and Nutrition Policy underlines our commitment to Government-led initiatives and we are delighted to have the support of Minister Harris during its launch.”
Lidl Ireland will reduce the added sugar content in own brand products by 20% by the end of 2020 focusing primarily on foods that are popular with and consumed by children.
This includes food categories such as breakfast cereals, spreads, sauces, and sweet confectionery. It will review approximately 350 own brand products in these categories.
For salt, Lidl will aim to reduce its content in its food in line with the UKs Food Standards Agency (FSA) 2017 salt targets by the end of 2020.
This will focus on food categories that are consumed on a regular basis and generally make up a large share of the daily salt intake including; ready meals, soups, pizzas, crisps, cakes and meat products. Over 500 products will be reviewed.
Positive Contributions
The announcement was welcomed by the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, who said that the food and retail industry can make a positive contribution to the prevention of obesity.
“It's important we work in partnership to achieve a reduction in the amount fat, salt and sugar in foods eaten regularly by consumers,” the Minister said.
“I want to commend Lidl for this initiative to reduce the sugar and salt content of many of their own brand products to help create a healthier food environment. This is something I hope others will replicate.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
