SPAR Austria has launched a new organic food range comprising 200 SKUs, free from added sugar and aimed at meeting nutritional needs of children.
The new product range is part of the retailer's sugar reduction strategy that began in 2017.
As part of the strategy, SPAR Austria has removed over 2,000 tonnes of sugar from its private-label products and has set up an industry-wide sugar reduction alliance – Zucker Raus – supported by health professionals and researchers.
Sugar Summit 2021
Presented during the Sugar Summit 2021, SPAR Austria’s new organic range offers children and parents a large selection of food products that have been scientifically tested.
At the event, health experts discussed the Zucker Raus initiative’s milestones and the importance of a healthy, low-sugar diet for children.
The speakers agreed that a good and affordable range of food is key to support families in leading a healthy lifestyle.
“Austrians continue to consume too much sugar with 33.1 kilogram per year, or about 91 g of sugar per day. This is still above the daily dose of 25 grams or a maximum of 50 grams of sugar recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” said SPAR Austria board member Markus Kaser.
“We have to teach our children how to eat properly. SPAR has taken an important step by introducing a range of 200 organic food products with no added sugar for children," he added.
Added Sugar
According to the WHO, many food products targeted towards children contain added sugar or sweetening ingredients, such as fruit juice concentrate.
“Since the beginning of 2017, SPAR Austria alone has reduced over 2,000 tonnes of sugar in own brand products. We achieved our target, which was set for the end of 2021, early on,” said Markus Kaser.
“We did not replace the reduced amount of sugar with artificial sweeteners and were able to let customers experience the natural, full taste, which is often covered by too much sweetness. The next step is an increased focus on children’s nutrition.”
No Sugar Added Logo
In cooperation with SIPCAN (Special Institute for Preventive Cardiology and Nutrition), SPAR Austria has created a new label for the new products.
“We will gradually identify these 200 products and all new products in this range with the ‘SIPCAN CHECKED – Initiative for a balanced way of life’ logo. In addition, the products carry the ‘no added sugar’ symbol. These two labels will help consumers and, above all, parents when choosing a product”, said Markus Kaser, presenting the new SIPCAN logo.
The president of the Austrian Medical Association, University Professor Dr Thomas Szekeres, added, “As a representative of the medical profession, I am happy about every initiative tackling unhealthy nutrition, overweight, and obesity. Every effort makes sense and will in the future be beneficial for all of us personally and for our health system.”
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Private Label news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
