SOFT DRINKS & FLAVOURED WATER
Leave fruit juice on the menu, government urged
The British Soft Drinks Association has (BSDA) released its response to the Department for Education’s consultation on updating the School Food Standards for England, warning that proposals to remove fruit juice from primary school menus and phase it out in secondary schools risk undermining efforts to improve children’s diets. While the BSDA supports the Government’s ambition to tackle obesity and improve children’s health – and backs the broader direction of the proposed new standards – it says the specific proposal to ban fruit juice is the wrong move and could have unintended consequences for children’s nutrition. At a time when fewer than one in 10 children achieve their
New President of the British Soft
Drinks Association P
eter Charles, managing director of Red Bull UK, has been elected President of the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA), replacing William Watkins, founder and owner of Radnor Hills, who is stepping down at the end of his term. Meanwhile, Andrew Milne, chief executive at Nichols plc, has been
elected Vice President of the BSDA. The appointments were confirmed at the BSDA’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, 11 June. Peter will serve a two-year term as President at a pivotal time for the UK soft drinks sector, as it prepares for the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme across the UK in October 2027, and continues engagement with the UK government on a range of regulatory and public health policies. These include proposed changes to regulation based on the Nutrient Profiling Model, an update to School Food Standards, and the consideration of restrictions on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s in England. Peter said: “I am honoured to have been elected President of the British Soft Drinks Association and to represent an industry that plays such an important role in the UK economy and in consumers’ everyday lives. “The next two years will be an important period for our sector,
particularly as we work towards the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme and continue engaging constructively with policymakers on the issues affecting our industry, including ongoing cost pressures linked to global supply chains. “I look forward to working with members, government and
stakeholders to help ensure the sector continues to grow, innovate and deliver for consumers.” The UK soft drinks sector contributes £5.6 billion annually to the economy, supports more than 56,000 manufacturing and supply chain jobs, and is currently valued at £26.3bn [GlobalData], underlining its significance within the wider UK food and drink industry.
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recommended 5 A Day, school food policy should focus on helping children increase their fruit and vegetable intake, not simply reducing sugar in isolation. While fruit juice naturally contains sugar because it is made from fruit, a 150ml serving counts towards 5 A Day and also provides vitamins and phytonutrients that support health and wellbeing. Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: “This ban on fruit juice could backfire. Everyone wants children to eat more healthily, but with fruit and vegetable consumption already worryingly low, cutting fruit juice from school menus would be the wrong move for children’s diets. “We support efforts to improve the nutritional quality of school food. As part of that, the Government’s objective should be to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption and encourage uptake of nutritious school meals. Fruit juice can play an important role in achieving both those aims. It needs to stay on the menu as part of a balanced approach.” Government data shows household purchases of fruit and vegetables have declined in recent years. Deficiencies in nutrients such as vitamin C and folate – both found in orange juice – are becoming increasingly common among children, with nearly one in five deficient in vitamin C. Evidence from pilots of the proposed standards found school
meal uptake fell by 15%, with more pupils opting for packed lunches or food purchased outside school. Given that fewer than 2% of packed lunches are estimated to meet existing School Food Standards, the BSDA says reducing access to fruit and vegetable intake within school meals could unintentionally steer some children towards less healthy options overall.
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