The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) have launched an appeal to food and drink suppliers to identify sugar alternatives as a nationwide effort to improve consumers health.

Ingredient manufacturers, product specialists and researchers are being invited to submit details of sugar alternative ingredients and products that may help companies reformulate. The organisations are looking for ingredients that will help sugar reduction, whilst enabling companies to maintain product quality, taste, product safety and shelf life.

The BRC and the FDF will use the information to create a list for manufacturers and retailers in order to further support sugar reduction efforts across the food and drink industry.

The initiative follows the publication of Public Health Englands guidelines on sugar reduction and supports the government ambition laid out in the childhood obesity plan to reduce sugar by 20%.

Kate Halliwell, nutrition and health manager, FDF, says, "FDF and our members are committed to playing our part in the fight against obesity. The food and drink industry has been on a positive journey for a number of years and this joint initiative with the BRC is the latest stage in the journey.

"We are confident this initiative will go a long way in supporting retailers and manufacturers in their sugar reduction efforts, leading to significant improvements in public health."