PepsiCo aims to reduce sugar in its drinks by 2025

The meeting of the Medical Academy in Washington discussed the sharp rise in obesity and type II diabetes over the past three decades. In this regard, PepsiCo Inc. announced that it intends to reduce the share of added sugar in its drinks by 2025.

It is worth distinguishing between natural and added sugar: the first (for example, fructose) is contained in products initially, the second is used in the production and processing of food. Added sugars contain a large number of calories without essential nutrients, they are also called “empty” calories. Such sugar causes tooth decay, as it creates a favorable environment in the mouth for the spread of bacteria.

According to PepsiCo, it plans to release more diet and low-calorie drinks, as well as review the amount of added sugar used in high-calorie soft drinks. Currently, 60% of PepsiCo drinks contain more than 100 kcal due to added sugar, regardless of the volume in which the drink goes on sale. The company’s goal is to reduce its high-sugar products to 33% in nine years. We believe the steps the company is taking will help propel PepsiCo to even greater heights in the years ahead. Companies like PepsiCo have tremendous opportunities as well as responsibilities. Not only to make a profit, but to do it in a way that would make a difference to the world, the company said in a press release.

Sweet sodas, energy drinks, alcohol are a major source of added sugar. The list of high-calorie “culprits” of obesity and diabetes mellitus was the flagship drink Pepsi, which contains 41 grams of sugar (about 10.25 teaspoons) and 150 calories in 355 ml. In Mountain Dew sugar is even more – 46 grams (170 kcal). Against this background, Mirinda with 32 grams and an energy value of 120 calories seems to be the most harmless. How do you know how much sugar is safe for your health?

Every five years, the Food and Drug Administration issues a new version of its dietary guidelines. They are believed to reflect the latest nutritional research and help people make healthy food choices. They are used by doctors and nutritionists to compile nutrition programs, schools to schedule meals, and manufacturers to calculate nutritional information. The 2015-2020 version recommends limiting your intake of added sugar to 10% (less is better) of your daily diet. If you consume 2,000 calories daily, the daily maximum should not exceed 50 grams of added sugar – slightly more than one can of Mountain Dew. For a diet of 2500 kcal, the recommended norm is 62.5 grams. If we look at the recommendations of the World Health Organization, we see that they contradict the opinion of the FDA. WHO recommends limiting the intake of added sugars in the diet to 5%.



Most Americans get a lot more sugar every day. According to research conducted in 2013-2014, about 70% of adults in the United States are overweight, 38% are obese. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and 86% are at risk. In Russia, these figures are slightly lower: 59% of the population suffers from overweight, 24% from obesity.

To help consumers identify and reduce added sugar intake, the Food and Drug Administration proposed changing food labeling in early 2016. On the new labels, which will become mandatory for manufacturers from July 26, 2018, in particular, added sugar and natural will be separated. The same purpose is served by the list of the most common added sugars published on the website of the US Department of Agriculture.



Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a tax on sugary drinks that would help reduce consumption by 20% and reduce the spread of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. “If governments impose a tax on sugary drinks, they can reduce suffering and save lives. They will also be able to reduce health care costs and increase revenues to invest in health care, said Douglas Bettcher, Director of the Department for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO.

PepsiCo and other manufacturers, including Coca-Cola, have opposed such taxes and label adjustments. The industry has spent millions trying to prevent the proposed bill from being passed at the state level. A recent study also found that companies are spending millions on sponsoring health care organizations and research that can appease health care companies, that is, aimed at cutting and taxing soda. Save the Children, a charity, reportedly refused to support the tax bill after receiving more than $5 million from PepsiCo and Coca-Cola in 2010. Despite the fact that the company’s executives denied this connection, among colleagues and health professionals, the story caused resonance. Manufacturers also influence research. In June, Skittles, Hershey and Butterfingers became sponsors of sweet research. Last year, The New York Times revealed how Coca-Cola funded millions of studies downplaying the link between sugary drinks and obesity.

This practice has been spreading for more than 50 years. Manufacturers have distorted scientific research by dictating the questions one can ask about sugar, especially the role sugar plays in causing heart disease. A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine focuses on discussions that emerged in the early 1950s as cardiovascular disease rates in the U.S. began to rise. Scientists began to look for answers and made the culprit saturated fat. This was no accident: after reviewing archival documents, the researchers traced how the sugar trade association helped to establish the hypothesis that eating high amounts of saturated fat was the main cause of heart problems, casting doubt on the evidence that sugar could be to blame.

Today, the view of the scientific community regarding the role of specific macronutrients in nutrition has shifted somewhat. The researchers concluded that a person’s eating habits are likely more important to health than a specific percentage of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/281636/