Improving nutrition

Our commitment

We will continually work to improve the taste and nutritional quality of all our products. By 2020, we will double the proportion of our portfolio that meets the highest nutritional standards, based on globally recognized dietary guidelines. This will help hundreds of millions of people to achieve a healthier diet. 

Our performance

25% of our portfolio met the criteria in 2011, up from 22% in 2010. This is in line with our plans. 

What matters most

Reducing the salt and saturated fat levels of our products.

  • 0 achieved
  • 7 on-plan
  • 0 off-plan
  • 1 missed target

Our approach

As lifestyles change, there is continuing concern about the effect of diet on public health.

People are living more sedentary lives and calorie-rich foods are more available and affordable. The result is a higher incidence of obesity, caused by people consuming more calories than they expend.

A healthy diet needs the right balance of fat (avoiding an excess of saturated fat), not too much salt and plenty of fruit and vegetables – otherwise the risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses is increased.

At the same time, millions of people around the world remain hungry or lack essential nutrients in their diets. Developing and emerging countries in particular face the double burden of over- and under-nutrition.

Unilever can play a part in providing solutions to these problems. It is an opportunity for us not only to make a difference to people’s health and well-being but also to achieve our growth objectives.

Improving our products

Our Nutrition Enhancement Program drives improvements in nutritional quality. Since we began the program in 2003, we have made good progress on lowering the levels of each of the four key nutrients: salt, saturated fat, trans fat and sugar.

For each of these nutrients, we measure our progress against the most stringent international standards.

We apply these standards to all the food products in our portfolio, including our food service products which are consumed in restaurants, schools and hospitals.

Improve heart health

2.1By 2020 we aim to motivate 100 million people to take our Heart Age test with our Flora and Becel brands.Our goal is to motivate people to adopt healthier diets and lifestyles, as this can reduce elevated heart age.

  • 5.9 million people have taken the Heart Age test since its launch in 2009. From 2012 we will no longer promote this test under the Flora/Becel brand.

More on improving heart health

In 2009 Unilever and the World Heart Federation launched Heart Age, an online tool to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease. By 2011 the tool was available in 27 countries. Through this work we have confirmed that the Heart Age test is an excellent tool for making heart health personally relevant.

To our disappointment, our margarine brands by themselves have found it very difficult to drive sufficient numbers of people to the Heart Age website. Therefore to fully maximise the power of the tool we are now working with external partners who have a broader heart health remit.

This does not diminish our commitment to invest in research and development in heart health and through our Becel/Flora products help people take simple steps to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

Reduce salt levels

Prior to 2010 we had already significantly reduced salt levels in our products. Our goal is to reduce the level further to help consumers meet the recommended level of 5 g of salt per day based on globally recognised dietary guidelines.

2.2Our first milestone was to reduce salt levels to an interim target of 6 g per day by the end of 2010. This required reductions of up to 25%. Our ambition is to reduce by a further 15–20% on average to meet the target of 5 g of salt per day.

  • We narrowly missed our 2010 interim milestone. At end 2011, 80% of our portfolio (representing almost 90% of our volume) reached 6 g per day. 61% of our products met our target of salt levels equivalent to 5 g per day, up from 60% in 2010.

More on reducing salt levels

Salt consumption in many countries remains much higher than the recommended daily amount.

We have made progress in reducing salt levels, particularly in product categories such as soups and meal sauces. This has been most marked in countries such as Australia, France, Canada and the United States, where salt reduction is on the public health agenda.

However, much remains to be done in other parts of the world. We expect the date for reaching our 5 g per day target will vary depending on the speed with which we can implement changes in different countries. Therefore we have adjusted our target to between 2015 and 2020 to reflect this reality. We also recognize that it will be very difficult to deliver this target.

Encouraging people to reduce their salt intake

Salty square art work for USLP-218Making ‘reduced salt’ claims appealing is not easy as people often assume that less salt means less flavour. But Knorr is rising to the challenge with the help of Salty, a cartoon character in the form of a salt shaker. Knorr launched an advertising campaign in Canada showing Salty feeling neglected because Knorr’s Sidekick range tastes so good, even with 25% less sodium. Salty’s popularity grew further on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Thanks to Salty, demand for our lower-salt products increased.

Reduce saturated fat

We are committed to improving the fat composition of our products by reducing saturated fat as much as possible and increasing levels of essential fats.

2.3By 2012 our leading spreads will contain less than 33% saturated fat as a proportion of total fat.

2.4A daily portion will provide at least 15% of the essential fatty acids recommended by international dietary guidelines.

  • Over 90% of our leading spreads (by volume) contained less than 33% saturated fat as a proportion of total fat by end 2011.
  • Over 90% of our leading spreads provided at least 15% of the essential fatty acids recommended by international guidelines by end 2011.

More on reducing saturated fat

Our leading spreads are those which we sell in tubs under brands such as Flora, Becel, Rama and Blue Band. They comprise about two-thirds of our soft margarines by volume. Our target does not include the hard margarines which are used for baking and require higher saturated fat levels.

The remainder of the leading spreads that do not meet our targets are largely sold in tropical countries where margarines cannot be made stable at ambient temperatures without a high saturated fat content. We plan to reduce the saturated fat by nearly a third to 38% which is currently the lowest we can reach.

We are also improving the fat composition of our products by increasing the level of essential fats. These fats help control blood lipids and are essential for good health.

Flora contains up to 80% less saturated fat than butter 

KV - Primary_LS-218Flora margarine is healthier than ever thanks to a new recipe. This uses a technological innovation which is the biggest of its kind in the spreads market for 60 years. The new Flora is now around 25% lower in saturated fat and has 20% fewer calories. Compared to butter, it has up to 80% less saturated fat.

Remove trans fat

2.5By 2012 we will have removed from all our products any trans fat originating from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

  • At end 2011, over 99% of our portfolio was free from trans fats originating from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. We are on track to deliver our 2012 target.

Reduce sugar

2.6Prior to 2010 we had already reduced sugar levels in our ready-to-drink teas. By 2020 we will remove an additional 25%.

  • While we saw significant reductions in sugar levels in some regions, overall the sugar level in our ready-to-drink teas portfolio did not reduce in 2011.

More on reducing sugar

In 2012 we have a number of projects that will start to reduce sugar levels significantly, keeping us on track to meet our 2020 target.

Although ready-to-drink teas contain much less sugar than many soft drinks, consumers still like a certain sweetness. This means that we have to reduce sugar levels gradually or use sweeteners so that people do not desert Lipton for higher-sugar alternatives.

Reduce calories

2.7By 2014 100% of our children’s ice creams will contain 110 calories or fewer per portion. 60% will meet this level by 2012.

  • 73% of our children’s ice creams contained 110 calories or fewer per portion at the end of 2011, a year ahead of our 2012 milestone.

More on reducing calories

walls ice cream-218We are investing significant resource to help us meet this target. We are developing new technologies that will allow us to reduce calorie content by lowering saturated fat in both the ice cream and the coatings.

Our goal is to reduce the calories in our ice cream while ensuring it remains a fun and tasty treat for children and one that makes a positive contribution to a healthy diet.

Providing healthy eating information

Our aim is to provide clear, simple labelling on our products to help consumers make choices for a nutritionally balanced diet. All our products in Europe and North America provide full nutritional information.

2.8By 2015 this will be extended to cover all our products globally. We will include energy per portion on the front of pack plus eight key nutrients and % Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA ) for five nutrients on the back of pack.*

  • Australia, New Zealand and Latin America provided full nutritional labelling by end 2011.

More on providing healthy eating information

In Africa, the Middle East and Asia, we still have some way to go to meet this goal.

* Where applicable and legally allowed and in accordance with local or regional industry agreements.

Future challenges

Salt

The scientific and marketing challenges of reducing salt are complex.

Consumers like the taste of salt. When given a choice between a well-salted and a lightly salted product people will generally express a preference for the well-salted one.

Since taste is the principal driver of product choice it poses a dilemma.

There are three possible approaches:

  • we find an alternative to sodium salts

  • we reformulate with herbs, spices and other ingredients in such a way as to reduce the need for a salty flavor

  • we gradually wean the consumer off the taste of salt by reducing levels slowly over time.

Finding an alternative to sodium is a complex task that will require a technological breakthrough. While we continue to search we are still a long way off a solution.

Reformulating recipes is something that our chefs and food technologists are constantly working on and we are making good progress.

The third approach to the challenge of salt – that of gradual reduction over time – is only really effective if the whole industry moves together. If it does not, people will desert our products for more highly salted ones.

Micronutrient deficiency

Providing fortified foods at scale to combat micronutrient deficiency is a big challenge. Many of our products already make an important contribution to the micronutrient intakes of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Our challenge is to do this for more people, in more places, in a way which is economically viable.

Unilever is a co-founder of Project Laser Beam, a five-year, public–private partnership which brings together the UN World Food Programme, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Kraft Foods and DSM, to improve children’s nutrition, health and livelihoods.

The project’s initial focus is on Indonesia and Bangladesh, where during 2011, Unilever provided 95,000 school children with micronutrient-enriched school meals. Further projects are scheduled to start in 2012.