Extension of Food Reformulation Task Force Agreement

Thursday, 11 September 2025

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland, together with the Department of Health, today announce an extension to the implementation of A Roadmap for Food Product Reformulation in Ireland. The Food Reformulation Task Force will now continue to oversee and drive food industry food reformulation activities up until the end of 2027.  The reformulation focus will continue to target reduced levels of salt, sugar, saturated fats and calories in processed food.

This extension is in recognition of the progress made by the food industry in moving towards the food reformulation targets outlined in A Roadmap for Food Product Reformulation in Ireland between 2022 and 2025. As part of this extension, the Roadmap will be reviewed and updated as necessary under the new National Obesity Strategy due for publication in early 2026. 

Since the publication of the Roadmap in 2021, an ambitious and wide-reaching programme of activities has been undertaken by the Food Reformulation Task Force to drive the uptake of reformulation activities by the food industry.

Some highlights to date include:

• Priority food categories for reformulation, along with specific reduction targets and thresholds for new product development, were defined, published, and widely disseminated to the food industry.
• Reformulation targets for baby and toddler foods were developed and published, with the aim of reducing salt and sugar content and limiting the availability of inappropriate products for this age group.
• A dedicated workstream on reformulation within the foodservice and out-of-home sector was established, leading to the development and publication of baselines and reformulation targets for children’s meals and popular takeaway options.
• The food composition data available for the Irish market was comprehensively mapped, and an independent food composition and labelling information system was established to monitor changes over time. Detailed reports based on this monitoring system have been published.
• A reformulation network of more than 500 members was created. Extensive stakeholder engagement was carried out through webinars, in-person events, one-to-one meetings, and social media campaigns to raise awareness of the Roadmap and its reformulation targets.
• Key research priorities were identified and addressed such as analysis of national dietary intakes of target nutrients; assessment of the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods in the retail environment; scoping of a branded food database for Ireland; exploration of innovative methods for reformulation monitoring; identification of popular children’s meal choices in Ireland; and examination of consumer perceptions of reformulation. The Task Force also contributed to two European research projects; Joint Action Best Remap and Joint Action Prevent NCD. 
• Research was commissioned to determine estimated salt intakes in the adult population living in Ireland. This research found estimated salt intakes have decreased in both males (11.6 vs 9.5 g/day) and females (8.8 vs 7.5 g/day) between 2008 and 2022. 

Based on the collation of multiple diverse data sources available to the Task Force, it estimates that between 2011 and 2024, there has been: 

• a decrease in the sugar content of beverages.  
• sugar reduction in discretionary foods such as confectioneries, cakes, desserts and biscuits.
• reduction in the sugar and saturated fat content of yogurts.
• reduction in the salt content of cheeses and some breads.
• reduction in the energy, saturated fat and salt content of other fat spreads.
• reduction in the sugar and salt content of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. 

However, there has been minimal improvements to the nutrient composition of ready meals and meat-based products, and minimal reductions in the energy or saturated fat content of confectionery and biscuits.  This demonstrates some improvements are being made, but there is still more work to be done by the food industry for this voluntary programme to meet the objectives of the Roadmap for Food Product Reformulation in Ireland. 

Food Reformulation in Ireland 

Note
The Food Reformulation Task Force was established in 2022 and since then has implemented an ambitious and wide-reaching programme of activities to achieve the targets set out in A Roadmap for Food Product Reformulation. The continuation of the Task Force until 2027, is funded by the Department of Health and based in the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and will be overseen by an Oversight and Monitoring Group chaired by the Department of Health. Food reformulation is also a key action in Ireland’s Food Vision Strategy 2030.