The soft drinks industry in Europe, represented by UNESDA, has been actively responding to the changing preferences of consumers for healthier food and drinks. As the leader of UNESDA, I am proud to announce our unwavering commitment to promoting healthier lifestyles in Europe through our adherence to the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, which we signed in 2021.
We have been at the forefront of promoting balanced diets by taking several key actions. One of our major initiatives has been the reduction of sugar in our soft drinks and offering smaller pack sizes. Since 2000, we have achieved a significant reduction of 28.6% in average added sugars in our products in the EU and the UK. We have also committed to further reducing average added sugars by 10% from 2019 to 2025, with an already impressive achievement of 7.6% reduction on average in just three years (2019-2022). Additionally, we are increasing the availability of small pack sizes to support consumers with portion control.
Furthermore, we have taken steps to ensure responsible marketing and advertising practices to children. We have made a groundbreaking commitment not to advertise or market any of our soft drinks to children under 13 years of age across all media channels. Independent audits have shown high compliance rates of 98.7% on TV, 92.9% on company-owned websites, 94.1% on company-owned social media profiles, and 100% on influencer profiles.
In addition to this, we have implemented responsible school policies by not selling our soft drinks in EU primary schools and using non-branded vending machines in EU secondary schools. Our commitment to only sell low- and no-calorie soft drinks in EU secondary schools has resulted in high compliance rates, ranging from 93% to 100%, as reported in an external audit conducted in Austrian, Italian, Slovenian and Swedish schools in 2022.
It is important to note that our efforts to promote balanced diets cannot be achieved in isolation. We rely on the collaboration of various stakeholders, including industry, governments, and the health community. We call on EU public authorities and regulators to develop evidence-based dietary recommendations that do not denigrate or discriminate against ingredients such as low- and no-calorie sweeteners, which are approved as safe for use by European regulators.
As the leader of UNESDA, I am committed to driving positive change for our consumers and look forward to continued support from all parties involved, especially decision-makers.
In partnership,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
UNESDA – Soft Drinks Europe
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