DirectorsTalk caught up with Optibiotix Health Plc (LON:OPTI) CEO Stephen OHara to comment on today’s news that sugar limits for everyday foods such as biscuits, chocolate bars and cereals have now been published by public health officials in a bid to make the UK’s children more healthy. Public Health England is challenging businesses to cut sugar by 20% by 2020, and by 5% this year. It says that the food industry should try lowering sugar levels, reducing product size or pushing healthier products.
So how will this be possible?
OptiBiotix Health Plc CEO Stephen OHara commented: “Today’s news of plans to reduce sugar in consumer products by 20%, and the previously announced sugar tax on soft drinks which comes into force next April, reflects Public Health needs to reduce sugar intake, particularly in children. OptiBiotix recognises the difficulties of changing consumer behaviour and is developing sweet natural healthy fibres called SweetBiotix® which are not digested in the human gut, and hence calorie free. This is an innovative concept which has the potential to address public health concerns over the impact of sugar on obesity, with the prospect of replacing ‘unhealthy’ sugars in existing products with non digestible, low calorie, healthy, SweetBiotix®’. Work to date has demonstrated our ability to synthesise SweetBiotix® with safety and sweetness confirmed by human taste studies. If we are able to sustain the rate of current progress we could be in a position to launch our first generation SweetBiotix®’s product later this year, or at the start of 2018’
