Sweet and sour
As I wrote last week, sugar has been high on the food and drink agenda this year, and the debate shows no signs of abating.
Considered a fairly quiet month in terms of industry conferences and exhibitions, I have just three such events to attend in December – and the fact that all three have a focus on sugar goes to show how much of a stir this ingredient is currently causing.
The first of the three, The Sugar Reduction Summit: Sugar, Sweetness & Obesity, took place yesterday in London. A lot has been said and published on sugar in the 12 months since 2014’s instalment of the annual summit, and I expected opinion at the event to be as divided as it has been on sugar related news all year.
It didn’t disappoint.
Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar, ruffled feathers when he announced that the food industry is “killing us”, likened it several times to the tobacco industry, described sugar – in addition to fat and salt – as a “toxic substance” and called the advertising of sugary food and drink – particularly to kids – a “scandal”.
He claimed that the food industry is not only entirely responsible for what goes into people’s mouths, but also that it is comprised of very powerful people with a hold over the government.
During questions and comments, a delegate challenged MacGregor’s view that the food industry is entirely responsible for what people eat, suggesting that consumers actually make this decision while the food industry simply creates products. MacGregor dismissed this opinion as “complete rubbish”.
Later, another delegate stood up to express sadness and disappointment in MacGregor’s “factually inaccurate” comments – an observation which was met with applause from fellow delegates.
