Obesity is a growing problem, how are you responding to this?
Obesity is a result of an imbalance, over time, of calories taken into the body and calories expended, and this is known as the "energy equation". There are many factors that contribute to this imbalance including: what foods we choose to eat; our changing lifestyles; emotional and psychological issues; amount of physical activity; as well as inherited genetic profiles.
At Cadbury we take the issue of obesity seriously and we believe that we have a valuable role to play in helping respond to this issue. We make quality products that people can enjoy, as a treat or refreshment, or for their functional benefits, as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle. We offer a wide range and variety of products giving consumers choices in how they can include them within their own diet and lifestyle.
A long-term educational program that results in behavioural change is the only way to provide real long-term solutions to obesity. This 12 Point Action Plan will help us deliver our contribution towards preventing obesity and positively influencing consumer health:
1. Products and Innovation
Through innovation we're investing in the development of new products within every category that will provide consumers with more choice. These include lower calorie offerings and new sweetening options. In addition, we're reducing trans-fats and salt content in our products and have discontinued marketing products with embedded toys.
2. Marketing
We've introduced a Global Marketing Code of Practice with specific reference to children. We will not advertise where children under eight years are likely to be the majority of the audience. It also defines the special care to be taken when advertising to children between ages eight and twelve.
3. Portion sizing – variety and moderation
We help our consumers by providing a broader range of options across all our product ranges, to provide greater choice and flexibility for how they consume our products. We are including new portion sizes and sharing information on our labelling. Where we have larger product formats, we provide serving size information to make it clear that these products are for sharing or multi-occasions.
4. Labelling
We're looking for ways to help people make more informed choices about what they eat, how much and how often. This includes providing nutrition information in a format that is easier to understand and responsible consumption messages. We're applying a new global labelling standard, called Be Treatwise, to help educate consumers about the role of treats in the diet.
5. Vending
We don't vend our confectionery or carbonated soft drink products in primary schools and will only vend these products in secondary schools by invitation and in line with nutritional guidelines set by the school. Guidelines for vending are included within our global marketing code of practice.
6. Consumer insight
We continue to invest in consumer research that helps build our knowledge of health concerns, including obesity. We're using and sharing our consumer research and expertise to help improve understanding of concerns, both within and outside our business.
7. Education
We continue to support initiatives that promote physical activity and responsible consumption of our products. We're also helping to build understanding of the "energy equation" particularly among children.
8. Community
As part of our wider corporate social responsibility programme, we'll continue to support initiatives that promote physical activity and education that helps improve consumer health and prevent obesity.
9. Business partners
We are actively engaging with governments, non-government organisations, business partners, customers and our competitors asking them to inform and support our responses.
10. Employees
We're active in helping our people understand and improve their own health and well-being.
11. Science
We work with the scientific community and base our decisions on sound science. We invest significantly in science and research that enables us to drive innovation and provide consumers with product choices.
12. Other stakeholders
We listen to the opinions and expectations of others including government, shareholders, campaigners, customers and our families and friends and incorporate these into our business decision making processes.
What information do you provide on your products?
We're always looking at how we can find new ways to help people understand and make more informed choices about our products. This includes providing more information about our products, their ingredients and nutritional values, including recommendations on percent daily intake amounts.
Cadbury provides comprehensive nutrition labelling on pack and percent daily intake (%DI) amounts for adults. %DIs provide a guide as to how much energy or nutrient is contained within one serve of the product. This information can be used to help consumers make selections and diet decisions. Nutrition information is provided per 100 g and also for a defined portion or serving size.
If the packaging size does not permit all the information to be displayed, we will make it available in other ways including on web sites.
We ensure our labelling always complies with, and often exceeds, local regulatory standards.
Do your products come in a range of sizes so I can enjoy them without eating too much?
Yes – we offer products in a wide range of sizes designed for different occasions. Our products are as diverse as the people who consume them. For example, we provide Cadbury Dairy Milk in a range of portion sizes from 99 calorie individual bars, share packs, to large blocks for sharing occasions.
Ingredients
Do you have trans fats in your products?
Trans fats can be found in our products and they come from two sources. Some are naturally occurring and can be found in milk, butter and natural oils and fats, others are added as part of the production process. Although scientific opinion differs, we recognise that there is a consensus emerging that high levels of consumption of trans fats could be a health concern. Consequently, while it's not possible to reduce the levels of naturally occurring trans fats, we are working to reduce the level of total trans fats in our products to less than 0.5g per single serving worldwide.
Do you use genetically modified ingredients in your products?
Genetically modified ingredients (GMIs) used in food production are ingredients produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). We’ll always follow regulatory requirements in order to ensure that our labelling clearly informs consumers of any GMIs where required.