NMPF Submits Comments to National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative
November 13, 2019
NMPF submitted comments Sept. 30 to the revised voluntary sugar reduction targets from the National Salt and Sugar Reduction Initiative, emphasizing that while the revised sugar targets were more suitable for flavored milk and yogurt, dairy products still should not be lumped in with the other sugary products included.
The National Salt and Sugar Initiative is a partnership between local, state, and national health organizations convened by the NYC Health Department. Following the same format as earlier goals for sodium reduction, the sugar initiative will set targets and monitor sugar levels in packaged foods and beverages, which contribute the most added sugars to human diets.
In the first set of comments submitted in response to the initial draft, NMPF pointed out that it was necessary to account for lactose, the natural-occurring sugar in milk. In a positive outcome for dairy, the natural-occurring sugars were accounted for by creating an allowance that raised the target levels in this draft of sugar targets so the benchmarks are more focused on added sugars.
Other key points in NMPF’s comments included:
- Products falsely labeled as plant-based yogurt shouldn’t be included in the yogurt category, nor should they be given a natural sugar allowance.
- Plant-based beverages shouldn’t be given a natural sugar allowance.
- The varying range of added sugar found in yogurt and that the target set isn’t representative of the marketplace.
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