» The Issue

Obesity and diet-related illnesses will be some of the European Union’s most serious health threats in the 21st century, affecting tens of millions of people. The rising prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents is of particular concern, because weight gained in younger years is harder to get rid of later in life and bad habits die hard.

Increasingly, this problem goes well beyond Europe. Worldwide, some 1.6 billion adults are overweight. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that in 2015 the number of overweight adults could increase to 2.3 billion. There is a broad consensus that the causes of obesity and its related diseases are multi-factorial (including genetic predisposition, diet, sedentary lifestyles and socio-economic factors). Global public health experts agree that a multi-factorial problem demands a multi-factorial solution with contributions from all stakeholders.

» Product Reformulation and Expanded Choice

In the autumn of 2006, eleven companies representing approximately €61 billion in annual sales responded to a CIAA survey covering product reformulation and innovation, packaging and nutrition labelling. Together, the companies reported that they had put more than 4,000 new product reformulations or innovations on the market over the past three years. These new or reformulated products represent on average nearly two-fifths of all the food and beverage products these companies sell to European consumers. One third of companies reformulated at least 50% of their products in 2005 and 2006. Half reformulated at least half of their total sales volume. 

The food industry is committed to meeting consumers’ tastes and needs through an evolving range of products and packages. Learn more »