In its global strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (2004), the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls for governments, business and other stakeholders to work together to promote healthier diets, nutrition and exercise.
In its global strategy the WHO made a number of recommendations for food and drink industries. Here we outline the specific steps Cadbury has taken to meet each individual WHO recommendation.
WHO recommendation 1:
Promote healthy diets and physical activity in accordance with national guidelines and international standards and the overall aims of the global strategy.
What we are doing:
In an industry first with other confectionery manufacturers, we are introducing a consumer education campaign in the UK called Be Treatwise which is designed to reinforce messages about responsible consumption and will communicate UK Government supported messages about the need for an active lifestyle. Read more about Be Treatwise. We are also supporting a wide range of community physical activity initiatives throughout the world.
WHO recommendation 2:
Limit the levels of saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and salt in existing products.
What we are doing:
We are working to reduce the levels of fat and salt content in our foods. Specific measures that we have taken include starting to reduce the levels of trans-fats to less than 0.5g per single serving in our products worldwide; exploring the use of non-fat alternatives in our new and existing products and trying to minimise the sodium (salt) content in our new products and reviewing our recipes for existing products. We have targeted to reduce sodium levels in our confectionery products in the UK - our biggest market - by 5-10% within 2 to 4 years.
WHO recommendation 3:
Continue to develop and provide affordable, healthy and nutritious choices to consumers and introduce new products with better nutritional value.
What we are doing:
From calorie free beverages and sugar-free gum to high-energy bars made for explorers attempting to scale the summit of Mount Everest, we create a range of products as diverse as our consumers.
We are helping our consumers by providing a broader range of options across all our product ranges. 30% of our confectionery and 70% of our gums are either low calorie or sugar free and Cadbury was the first confectionery manufacturer to discontinue the single-serve, king-size lines in the UK in 2004. We made this move as part of our overall efforts to encourage moderation and responsible consumption. We also continue to offer a variety of smaller beverage sizes and options. These steps will give consumers greater choice and flexibility in how they consume our products.
WHO recommendation 4:
Provide customers with adequate and understandable product and nutrition information.
What we are doing:
We are rolling out a global labelling standard
that includes ingredients and guideline daily amounts (GDA) of each of eight major nutrients - energy (calories), protein, carbohydrates, sugar, fat, saturated fat, fibre and sodium.
WHO recommendation 5:
Practise responsible marketing particularly with the regard to promotion and marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or salt, especially to children.
What we are doing:
Since 2004, we have had in place a comprehensive global marketing code of practice which strictly governs all of our marketing activity worldwide. The code supports sensible consumption and a balanced lifestyle and specifically addresses the issue of marketing and children. Globally, we will not market to children under the age of eight and any other advertising or marketing is carefully controlled and reviewed.