食品企業(yè)努力應對“減糖”課題

Sporting a white baseball cap and white trainers, President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka marked World Diabetes Day in November by joining a walk in the capital city of Colombo, as he has for the past eight years.

今年11月，斯里蘭卡總統(tǒng)邁特里帕拉•西里塞納(Maithripala Sirisena)頭戴白色棒球帽、腳蹬白色運動鞋，加入了首都科倫坡的健走隊伍，以紀念世界糖尿病日(World Diabetes Day)，過去8年他一直參加這種活動。

This time, however, the country’s president did something unusual. During a speech, he brandished the distinctive green pack of Milo, a popular chocolate malt drink manufactured by Nestlé and aimed at children, demanding the world’s biggest food company reduce the product’s sugar content.

然而，這一次，西里塞納做出了一些不同尋常的舉動。在一場演講中，他舉起一盒醒目的綠色包裝的“美祿”(Milo)，要求這家全球最大食品公司降低這款產(chǎn)品中的糖含量。這是一款頗受歡迎的麥芽巧克力飲料，由雀巢(Nestlé)生產(chǎn)，面向青少年銷售。

Mr Sirisena blamed excess sugar consumption as a key cause of diabetes in his country, affecting nearly one in 10 people out of a population of 21m. He accused Nestlé of having increased the sugar content in Milo and demanded the Swiss group reduce it to less than 5 per cent of total content or face legislative controls.

西里塞納將過量的糖攝入斥為斯里蘭卡糖尿病多發(fā)的主要原因，該國的2100萬人口有近十分之一受到糖尿病困擾。他批評雀巢增加了美祿的糖含量，要求這家瑞士集團將糖含量降至總成分的5%以下，否則將面臨立法方面的限制。

In response, Nestlé said that over the past five years it had cut the amount of added sugar in Milo by 32 per cent and that the drink now contains less than 5 per cent sucrose — equivalent to two teaspoons of sugar.

作為回應，雀巢表示，過去5年，該公司已將美祿中的添加糖含量減少32%，這款飲品中的蔗糖含量現(xiàn)在已不到5%，相當于兩茶匙糖。

The public spat marked a new front in a battle that has gradually moved from nutritional experts and health-conscious consumers to politicians, who are increasingly taking legislative action to force companies to go easy on sugar, salt and fat in foods.

這場公開口水仗標志著一場戰(zhàn)役拉開了新前線，站在前線的人已逐漸從營養(yǎng)專家和注重健康的消費者變?yōu)檎稳耸?，后者正越來越多地采取法律措施迫使企業(yè)降低食品中的糖、鹽和脂肪含量。

The number of obese people has tripled worldwide since 1975, according to the World Health Organization. In a recent report the United Nations-affiliated organisation drew attention to a 10-fold increase in child obesity over the same period.

根據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織(WHO)的數(shù)據(jù)，自1975年以來，全球肥胖人口已增加兩倍。在最近一份報告中，這家聯(lián)合國(UN)系統(tǒng)內(nèi)的組織提醒人們注意，同期肥胖兒童數(shù)量增加9倍。

The WHO supports sugar taxes as one of a series of measures to promote healthy eating and, to date, around 20 countries have introduced a form of sugar tax, including Mexico, France, South Africa and Norway. Sri Lanka will join that group, if its plans to impose excise duty on sugary beverages are enacted.

世界衛(wèi)生組織支持把征收糖稅作為一系列推動健康飲食的舉措之一。目前，約有20個國家推出了糖稅，包括墨西哥、法國、南非和挪威。如果斯里蘭卡對糖飲料征收特別消費稅的計劃付諸實施的話，那么它也將加入這個行列。

Behind the step-up of government intervention is a fear that national health budgets will be swamped by the treatment of illnesses — type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer — associated with high consumption of sugar.

在政府加大干預背后是這樣一種擔心：對2型糖尿病、心臟病以及某些癌癥等與高糖攝入相關的疾病進行治療，將拖垮國家醫(yī)療預算。

In the UK, where obesity rates have doubled since 1993, the cost of dealing with the condition by the National Health Service is projected almost to double from £5.1bn in 2015 to £9.7bn in 2050.

在英國，肥胖率自1993年以來已增加一倍，到2050年，預計英國國民醫(yī)療服務體系(National Health Service)用于肥胖相關疾病治療的成本，將從2015年的51億英鎊增加近一倍，達到97億英鎊。

So far, much of the regulation has centred on restricting advertising of children’s sugary foods or imposing taxes on sugary drinks on the basis that these drinks carry no nutritional value, according to health officials, other than hydration, which can be better achieved by drinking water.

據(jù)英國衛(wèi)生部官員稱，到目前為止，很多監(jiān)管聚焦于限制兒童含糖食品的廣告或?qū)秋嬃险鞫悾鞫惖睦碛墒?，這些飲料除幫助人體補充水分以外毫無營養(yǎng)價值，而補充水分的更好辦法是喝水。

Beverage manufacturers have protested — arguing that sugar taxes do not work in reducing obesity but instead hit the poor and cost jobs. The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s biggest soft drinks manufacturer, for example, said recently: “There are better ways to address obesity and help fix government budgets gaps than taxes that hurt local businesses and everyday consumers.”

飲料生產(chǎn)商提出抗議，他們辯稱，糖稅不會有助于減少肥胖，反而會讓窮人的生活更為艱難并導致就業(yè)崗位減少。例如，全球最大軟飲制造商可口可樂(Coca-Cola)最近表示：“糖稅損害地方企業(yè)和普通消費者的利益，有比征收糖稅更好的辦法能夠應對肥胖問題并幫助彌合政府預算缺口。”

Sugar taxes may not be a panacea for obesity but the UK’s soft drinks levy, announced in March 2016, has demonstrated that they can be effective in persuading manufacturers to reduce sugar before the tax kicks in — in April 2018. The levy is expected to add about 8p to a 70p can of cola.

糖稅可能并不是解決肥胖問題的靈丹妙藥，但事實證明，英國于2016年3月宣布征收的軟飲料稅能夠非常有效地說服制造商在該稅生效——2018年4月——前減少產(chǎn)品含糖量。征稅后一聽70便士的可樂預計價格將提高約8便士。

The UK Treasury originally thought the levy would raise £520m a year but, in its most recent Budget forecast last month, it reduced its estimates — the clearest sign yet of the measure’s efficacy as a deterrent.

英國財政部最初認為這項稅每年將為財政增收5.2億英鎊，但在上個月最新的預算預測中下調(diào)了這一估值，這是對該舉措的威懾性迄今最明顯的證明。

Manufacturer Lucozade Ribena Suntory has accelerated plans to reduce sugar and use artificial sweeteners in order to escape the tax altogether, as drinks with less than 5g of sugar per litre are exempt from the levy. Peter Harding, chief operating officer, says: “We were already doing a lot of reformulation work. The sugar tax put a commercial imperative in front of us. We were the first to say that we would take 50-60 per cent of sugar out.”

制造商Lucozade Ribena Suntory已加速實施減糖計劃，并使用人工甜味劑以徹底逃避糖稅，因為每公升含糖量低于5克的飲料無需繳納糖稅。首席運營官彼得•哈丁(Peter Harding)說：“我們已經(jīng)做了大量配方調(diào)整工作。糖稅讓我們從做生意的角度也必須減糖。我們是第一家表示會減掉50%至60%糖分的公司。”

As governments get serious about increased regulation, food manufacturers are trying to pre-empt changes through voluntary measures. They are also driven by rising consumer demands for more nutritious ingredients.

隨著各個政府對加強監(jiān)管越來越認真，食品制造商正試圖主動采取一些舉措，以提前應對預見中的改變。推動它們主動行動的還有消費者日益強烈地要求食品配方更營養(yǎng)。

Kellogg’s, the US food group, for example, said last month in the UK that it would cut sugar in its Rice Krispies and Coco-Pops cereals, which are popular with children, and will axe altogether its Ricicles brand which is one-third sugar, from January. But there are limits to the amount of sugar that can be taken out of a product without affecting taste and texture. For this reason, many manufacturers have shrunk portions, which usually results in higher profit margins.

例如，美國食品集團家樂氏(Kellogg)上個月在英國表示，從明年1月份起將減少其受兒童青睞的卜卜米(Rice Krispies)和可可力(Coco-Pops)谷物產(chǎn)品中的含糖量，并徹底砍掉Ricicles產(chǎn)品——該產(chǎn)品有三分之一的成分都是糖。但是，在不影響口感和質(zhì)地的情況下，產(chǎn)品中能減少的含糖量是有限的。出于這一原因，許多制造商縮減了商品的包裝分量，而小包裝的商品通常利潤率更高。

Few have gone as far as Mars, which last year told customers to eat some of its products only “occasionally”. The US food group said: “To maintain the authentic nature of the recipe, some Mars food products are higher in salt, added sugar or fat,” adding: “These products are not intended to be eaten daily.”

沒幾家公司能做到瑪氏(Mars)的程度，該公司去年告訴消費者，它的某些產(chǎn)品最好只“偶爾”食用。這家美國食品集團說：“為了保持配方的正宗，瑪氏部分食品的鹽、糖或脂肪含量較高。這些產(chǎn)品原本就不適合每天食用。”

Drinks manufacturers are aware that artificial sweeteners are opposed by some consumers and have therefore been working on natural, low-calorie alternatives, particularly stevia, a leafy shrub which is intensely sweet but has a bitter aftertaste.

飲料制造商意識到人工甜味劑遭到一些消費者的排斥，因此一直在研究天然的低熱量替代品，其中最受重視的是甜葉菊，這種多葉草本植物非常甜，但后味苦澀。

Coca-Cola, said last month that it would launch Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar next year. It said it had developed a form of stevia that mimics the taste of sugar without any bitterness with PureCircle, the Bermuda-based company that specialises in stevia production.

可口可樂(Coca-Cola)不久前宣布明年將推出甜葉菊無糖可口可樂。該公司表示已與PureCircle合作開發(fā)出一種甜葉菊，它有糖的味道而無任何苦味。PureCircle是一家位于百慕大的公司，專門生產(chǎn)甜葉菊。

Nestlé also has high hopes for next year, when the maker of KitKat launches a range of the chocolate bar with 30 per cent less sugar. It says it has devised a technology to alter the structure of sugar crystals so they dissolve more quickly when consumed — this allows it to use less sugar to deliver the same taste of sweetness.

雀巢(Nestlé)明年也有大計劃，它希望推出一個減糖30%的奇巧(KitKat)系列。該公司表示，它已發(fā)明一種技術來改變糖晶體的結構，使其在吃下去的時候更快溶解，令該公司可以用較少的糖來實現(xiàn)相同的甜味。