Cambridge University Scientists Develop Sugar Certification Standards to Delight of Mum: Invitation Fri 11th March

MEDIA DAY INVITATION Friday 11th March: Cambridge University [embargoed to midnight Sunday 13th]

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY SCIENTISTS ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF GROUNDBREAKING FREE SUGARS STANDARDS

In 2015 the World Health Organisation stated people should get no more than 5% of their daily energy intake from free sugars. Until now there has been no means for the public to distinguish between free and naturally occurring sugars in food.

Rend Platings, a concerned mother, proposed a new certification label, called Sugarwise to empower consumers to take control of their free sugar intake. Tesco played a major role in backing the certification by advising on compliance with European Union regulations for food and drink packaging and also supported development of the certification's logo.

On Friday 11^th March Cambridge scientists will present the system that offers consumers a means for identifying foods low in free sugars, making it one of the most important breakthroughs in our fight against the negative health effects associated with high sugar intake.

11.00 – 12.20: Meet at Cambridge University Biochemistry Lab

Meet Dr Tom Simmons, CU expert on sugar and carbohydrates, and founder Rend Platings.

Address: Cambridge University Biochemistry Lab, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 1QW [Parking at Grand Arcade, short walk to site]

13.00 – 14.00: Formal announcement of new standards for certification

Announcement of approved new brands, details of testing and certification process and questions. You'll also have a chance to meet manufacturers of certified products and those waiting to see if theirs are to be certified. The announcement bit will be kept to a minimum, there's a focus on taking questions and also mixing with the Sugarwise team along with guests. You won't regret coming for the goody bag alone. You will not be bored! 

Address: Conference Room, Ground Floor, Future Business Centre, Kings Hedges Rd, Cambridge CB4 2HY [parking on site]. 

14.00 – 16.00: Interview, photo and filming opportunities

Address:

Floor three, Future Business Centre, Kings Hedges Rd, Cambridge CB4 2HY. We can go to the Daily Bread if desired for another filming set, which is a picturesque better food and farming place just a stone's throw away. There will also be a quiet room set aside from 2pm.

Further Information:

• Certification aligned with World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendations on free sugar consumption gives consumers clear information enabling them to regulate their intake to prevent potential health problems.
• Certification based on accredited and authoritative assessment provides purchasers confidence in knowing that the products displaying the mark genuinely meet the WHO recommendations.
• An instantly recognisable mark that enables manufacturers to demonstrate the conformance of their products to WHO recommendations.
• Authoritative advice that helps manufacturers develop new products or modify existing products to conform with WHO recommendations on free sugar content.

Quotes:

Vinicius Ferreira, Cambridge University: "We have to start drawing a distinction between free sugars and non-free sugars, because free sugar content, rather than the total sugar content currently displayed in nutritional labels, is the critical measure of the quality of a food's nutritional profile. Foods high in free sugar are almost universally deficient in other nutrients and fibre, and when the population starts getting a large proportion of their daily calories from foods high in free sugar, they fail to meet their daily requirements for nutrients and fiber.

Moreover, foods high in free sugar are typically digested faster and lead to more frequent feelings of hunger. To get the most 'nutritional bang for your buck' Sugarwise promotes consumption of foods low in free sugars, and, to cut through the noise and misinformation regarding sugars, me and my scientific colleagues have developed a new 'Sugarwise' standard to evaluate foods. Foods that meet our criteria will carry our Sugarwise brand, which will enable consumers to easily and quickly identify products that are truly 'Sugarwise'"

Dr Tom Simmons: "Free sugars are accompanied by less fibre and other nutrients that can be found in the whole food. Therefore, they are less likely to suppress appetite and consequently people who consume a diet high in free sugars are more likely to consume too many calories and gain weight. The World Health Organization's recommendation to lower free sugars intake to 5% or less of total calories is to reduce the incidence of non communicable diseases. There is a strong correlation of free sugars intake with dental diseases such as tooth decay and also heart disease and diabetes. We still have to be aware of salt, fat and total sugars but free sugars are the big food issue of our time. They are arguably the most important issue where there is the largest potential to positively impact health by changing the free sugars profiles of our foods, especially if these changes can be made in the manufacturing process.

Not only is it arguably the most important issue and largest challenge facing us today, but current food labels do not reveal free sugars. Sugarwise gives you information that you are not currently told, in traffic lights or on food labels, and guides you to products that are definitely within the recommended guidelines for free sugars"

Rend Platings, Sugarwise Founder, said: “I was shocked to hear my daughter’s generation may live a shorter life than their parents. It’s not that we don’t know about the dangers of sugar, we do; the problem relates to our lack of access to healthier choices. I am hoping that Sugarwise will have the potential to change things in the same way Fairtrade and Organic labels have – both have successfully driven up demand and availability of products in their categories. We would all benefit if the same was the case for low free sugar products.”

NEW SUGARWISE CERTIFICATION OFFERS THE ONLY WAY FOR CONSUMERS TO IDENTIFY LOW FREE SUGAR CONTENT IN FOOD