McVitie’s reformulates nine variants with less sugar

Global snacking company pladis has announced that it is reducing sugar in nine McVitie’s biscuits.

The first of the reformulated biscuits, McVitie’s Original Digestives, has hit shelves with 9 percent less sugar and 5 percent less salt.

The biscuit, which was well below Public Health England’s target of 26.2g of sugar per 100g, now contains just 15.1g of sugar per 100, down from 16.6g.

Other reformulated biscuits include McVitie’s Rich Tea (18.5g of sugar per 100g), McVitie’s Original Hobnobs (22.9g/100g), McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestives (28.5g/100g) and McVitie’s Dark Chocolate Digestives (26.6g/100g).

McVitie’s Chocolate Hobnobs (Milk and Dark), McVitie’s Caramel Digestives and McVitie’s Ginger Nuts will follow suit.

The variants make up over 50 percent of all McVitie’s sales in the UK and the reformulation is expected to remove 785 tonnes of sugar from Brits’ diets every year, the company claimed.

“For years, we have been working on reducing sugar in the nation’s favourite biscuits. It is an exceptionally complex process because our fundamental philosophy is that we will absolutely not compromise on taste or the quality of ingredients,” said David Murray, managing director of pladis UK & Ireland.

The company said it has tested the new-recipe biscuits with hundreds of consumers, including a group of self-confessed McVitie’s superfans, to ensure that the reduction in sugar could not be spotted.

Public Health England has commended the effort, and called for more reductions.

Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at the agency, said: “We’re pleased that McVitie’s is the latest household name to commit to offering healthier products.

“This announcement shows reducing sugar in biscuits is possible and we look forward to seeing further reductions in the future.”