Cereal giant Kellogg’s on Monday lost a High Court case against new UK rules restricting the highlighting of sugary foods in English shops to tackle childhood obesity.
At a hearing in April, the maker of Frosties and Rice Krispies argued against the government’s strategy of calculating the fat, salt and sugar content of cereals when eaten dry, not when taken with milk.
But in a Monday ruling, the court found that no breakfast cereal manufacturer objected to the methodology during the consultation phase on the regulations.
The judge, Thomas Linden, said there was “no dispute” that breakfast cereals could be part of a healthy diet.
“But the argument that eating a particular breakfast cereal has nutritional benefits does not address the point that if it contains too much fat, sugar or salt, that property of the product is detrimental to a child’s health,” he said.
Linden said 54.7 percent of Kellogg’s cereals would be classified as less healthy under the new rules, which take effect from October.
Kellogg’s claimed the change would hurt annual profits by about £5 million ($6.1 million).
The government welcomed the ruling, saying it was “committed to tackling obesity, which is the second leading cause of cancer in the UK” and costing the state-funded National Health Service “billions of pounds a year”.
Kellogg’s said it has no intention of appealing but is urging the government to reconsider its strategy, particularly in the face of rising inflation.
“By restricting the placement of items in supermarkets, people have less choice and potentially higher prices,” said the group’s UK chief executive Chris Silcock.
“So, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, we would urge the government to reconsider these regulations and put the consumer first.”
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