Sugar is intrinsically linked with the modern food system. Large sections
of the U. K. food industry are dependent on its use and functional qualities.
Supplies of sucrose entering the food chain have declined 25% between the
1950's and 1980's and currently stand around 37 kg/person/year. Furthermore,
U. K. dietary guidelines over the past 14 years have consistently suggested
caution over how much sugar is eaten, especially in manufactured foods.
Dietary guidelines such as the NACNE report (1983) recommend average sugar
consumption should be no more than 20 kg/person/year. Currently, two-thirds
of sugar supplies are bought for use in food and drink manufacture. Continued
pressures on sugar consumption and negative consumer attitudes to sugar may
be reflected in lost sales of sugar-containing foods. The available information
on U. K. sugar consumption is critically assessed. Although the main sources of
sugar supply are identified, individual sugar consumption is shown to vary by
considerable amounts. The place of sucrose is examined in relation to other
sweeteners and why and where sugars and sweeteners are used in food systems.
The promotion of "no added sugar" and "sugar free" products is examined since
the publication of the NACNE report to the end of 1987. To further test the
impact of changing patterns of sugar consumption on food and drink
manufacturers a national survey of manufacturers who use sugar was carried
out in early 1988. This was an attitudinal postal questionnaire and responses
to the issue of sugar, diet and health were analysed. Respondents bought an
estimated 650,000 tonnes of sugar in 1986, around 45% of the total industrial
market. While the survey aggregate were fully supportive of sucrose,
respondents reported that the majority of consumers were worried about sugar
being bad for health and were actively cutting down on individual intakes.
There were significant differences to the issue of sugar, diet and health
dependent on company size, whether a company manufactured for a retailer's
own label and if products had already been marketed at a "healthy eating"
segment. However, in general, while manufacturers considered consumer
attitudes to sugar to be important they had to be put in the context of other
factors. So far the impact of changing patterns of sugar consumption is not
reflected in the total average industrial purchases of sugar, although
substantial "sugar-free" and "sugar-reduced" product niches have been
established.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4223 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Heasman , Michael Kenneth |
| Contributors | Not named |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Postgraduate School of Studies in Biomedical Sciences |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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