Sugar reduction in beverages is a hot topic. The UK government will introduce the soft drink levy in April 2018 to try and tackle childhood obesity. The levy will affect all producers and importers of soft drinks with more than 5 grams of added sugar per 100ml, with a higher rate of levy for those with 8 grams or more, including alcoholic drinks with up to alcohol by volume. The levy has been confirmed at 18p and 24p per litre for the two bands.

To avoid or reduce the impact of the levy, producers must either reformulate their drinks to reduce the amount of added sugar to below the 5 gram limit or reduce portion size.

The seminar will cover the most challenging aspects of sugar reduction in beverages, including:

• Regulatory requirements and considerations
• Technical considerations
• Improving the flavour of reformulated products using flavour modifications
• Improving mouthfeel
• Replacing sweetness