Dean O’Brien, the managing director of Kellogg’s UK, said the proposed plans had “the potential to unintentionally undo years of work and investment by food companies to encourage healthier choices”.
“Over the last decade, Kellogg’s has reduced sugar by 27% and salt by 22% in its cereals and under current regulations all of our children’s cereal, and four of our five best-sellers, are deemed healthy.
“However, under the newly proposed plans, cereals such as bran flakes, which are high in fibre and low in saturated fat, would be reclassified as less healthy.”
This is despite breakfast cereals being “nutritionally dense” and with Kellogg’s cereals “fortified with vitamins and iron”, O’Brien added.
Kellogg’s All Bran Original contains 8g of added sugar per serving, with a bowl containing just 120 calories.
Bran flakes and other cereals, including Corn Flakes and Special K, also risk becoming subject to the 9pm watershed as part of a ban on “junk food” advertising, brought in as part of earlier rule changes.
Industry sources said “the ink was barely dry” on laws that had only just come into effect, and which had resulted in companies, including cereal makers, changing their recipes to meet new standards.
“But these could suddenly be treated as ‘less healthy’ again,” one source told The Telegraph.
“The Government is moving the goalposts for businesses that have acted in good faith.”
They added that fortified breakfast cereals would become totally unpalatable if changed to reduce their sugar content, encouraging people to add their own unmeasured sugar or move away from the high-fibre option altogether.
Manufacturers have raised similar concerns about plain, natural yoghurts with added real fruit, which will also fall foul of the rules.
Others have warned that the quantity of tomatoes in pasta sauces could be watered down to comply with the regulations.
Dairy UK has warned that natural sugars in milk will mean a number of drinks, in particular lactose-free milks, will be caught, resulting in recipes being reformulated with artificial sweeteners that are not measured under the new system.
It said this threatened to push consumers to artificial, sugar-free soft drinks instead of nutrient-rich, real-milk drinks, and hurt British farmers.
The changes come despite food producers making their products healthier, without state interventions, in line with consumer demand.
Food manufacturers now contribute 18% less salt, 19% less sugar and 17% fewer calories to the British grocery market, compared to 2021, according to the Food and Drink Federation.
Kate Halliwell, the body’s chief scientific officer, said: “Food brands have worked over many years and invested hundreds of millions of pounds to change products people know and love to make them healthier.
“New Government proposals risk undermining this work by badging a wide range of foods, from high-fibre breakfast cereals to fruit yogurts, as ‘less healthy’.
“This is confusing for consumers, and for businesses who have worked to help people meet the Government’s nutritional guidelines. In some categories, like breakfast cereals, there will be very limited ‘healthier’ options left, despite breakfast cereals being nutrient-dense and an easy and affordable option for families.”
Calling for a rethink, Halliwell added: “Most of us aren’t getting enough fibre in our diets, and breakfast cereals are an important source of fibre for people of all ages.
“Imposing promotion and advertising restrictions on these higher fibre options seems counter-intuitive.
“If companies can’t highlight these products, people are less likely to choose them. It runs the risk that some will disappear from shelves, reducing consumer choice, and opportunities for people to get more fibre in their diets.”
Some 96% of consumers fall short of the recommended 30g of fibre a day, according to official figures.
A Government spokesman said previous nutrition rules were 20 years old and did not “reflect the latest dietary advice”, adding that the “new model shifts the focus from total sugars to free sugars and promotes diets higher in fibre”.
“Obesity and poor diets rob children of the best possible start in life and this is about supporting parents to raise the healthiest generation of children by restricting the advertising and promotion of junk food,” they added.
“We are currently consulting on applying the new model to the advertising and promotions restrictions and will consider all feedback.”
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