Hungarian soft drink manufacturers made commitment to reducing sugar in their products

Sugar- and calorie content of non-alcoholic beverages will be halved by 2020 in Hungary.

In the Hungarian food manufacturing industry, soft drink producers are the first to make voluntary commitment to reducing the amount of sugar in their products. The Hungarian Mineral Water, Fruit Juice and Soft Drink Association has announced today that the average sugar- and calorie content of their non-alcoholic beverages will be cut by 50% compared to 2010 level by end of 2020.

Hungarian Mineral Water, Fruit Juice and Soft Drink Association is the first to announce voluntary sugar reduction commitment in the Hungarian food manufacturing industry. Accordingly, companies of the sector have pledged to further reduce the average sugar and thus calorie content of their non-alcoholic beverages (such as carbonated soft drinks, juices, ice teas). This is to be realised through the transformation of their products' recipes, the introduction of new, innovative products, increasing the proportion of small packaged products* and the expansion of their portfolios with low-calorie and non-calorie products. In addition to these, member companies will encourage more conscious water intake among their consumers through their marketing activities so that more and more people would choose low energy or calorie-free products.

Through these steps, by the end of 2020, they will have reduced the sugar and calorie content of their products by 10 percent per every 100 millilitres relative to their level in 2017. Therefore, by the end of 2020, the average sugar and calorie content of non-alcoholic beverages will be halved compared to their 2010 level.

As a result of the actions taken by member companies in recent years:

·         The average sugar and calorie content per 100 millilitres of products decreased by 40 percent between 2010 and 2017,

·         The proportion of reduced calorie and calorie-free products increased from 23 percent to 55 percent among all products manufactured between 2010 and 2017.

“Our Association and our member companies are fully aware of their responsibility for product quality and the health of their consumers. We are also aware that managing lifestyle changes in modern society and public health challenges of the 21^st century is a complex issue that affects all actors of society. Therefore, we help reach common public health goals by continuous product innovation, responsible advertising, promotion of active lifestyle and providing the widest range of information possible to consumers.” – said Géza Miklósvári, President of the Association.

About the Association

Hungarian Mineral Water, Fruit Juice and Soft Drink Association is the professional advocacy organization of non-alcoholic drink producers in Hungary, which represents more than 95 percent of domestic mineral water bottlers and about 80 percent of soft drink- and fruit juice producers. Member companies make a production value of nearly HUF 200 billion annually and employ 5,000 people directly in Hungary.

*The wider availability of small packaged products allows consumers to control their sugar and energy input more efficiently by choosing them.