Nestlé Breakfast Cereals, made by Cereal Partners Worldwide, is committing to reduce a further 10% in the average sugar content across its cereal range by the end of 2018.

This move will see around 225 million fewer teaspoons of sugar in the nation’s diet as part of an ongoing programme to reduce average sugar across the product portfolio, Nestlé says. These changes will be achieved through a combination of reformulation and by growing the share of lower sugar variants. Since 2010, Nestlé says its breakfast cereals in the UK have already reduced their average sugar content by 15% across the portfolio.

Nestlé Breakfast Cereals’ new commitment to improve the nutrition profile of its cereals builds on more than a decade of reformulations in reducing sugar and salt while increasing levels of whole grain, the company says. Nestlé Breakfast Cereals sold in the UK in 2016 contained an additional 3,600 tonnes of whole grain compared with 2003 levels.

“We believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day and our cereals provide vitamins, minerals and fibre to the diet,” said Gharry Eccles, UK Regional Vice President of Cereal Partners Worldwide. “We also know that breakfast cereals can play a part in the efforts to reduce sugar consumption across the nation. Offering consumers healthier and tastier cereals is one of our top priorities and we are determined to make breakfast even better for everyone. We’ll take every opportunity to drive forward improvements across our range. For example, by the end of this year, our cereals will be free from artificial flavours and colours across our entire product portfolio. Making these improvements is crucial to us offering better choices for our consumers while retaining the same great taste.”