On 16 June FDF Scotland celebrated the successes of their Scottish Government funded programme at a showcase event. Attendees heard how Scottish businesses have made everyday food healthier including meat products, bakery goods and smoked fish through to ice cream, crisps and chocolate.
Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “Since 2019, the Scottish Government has helped the Food and Drink Federation Scotland unlock the potential for Scotland’s food industry to make their produce healthier and better for consumers.
“I commend our local food companies for rising to the reformulation challenge. They have played a vital role in improving dietary health by removing hundreds of millions of calories from Scottish food and drink products. Together, we must continue to support the reformulation agenda and the commercial, reputational and public health benefits that this contributes to Scotland being a Good Food Nation.”
Scotland’s pie brand Bells Food Group has cut the salt content of their pie shells in half and Strathmore Foods is removing over 100 million calories from the Scottish diet by making a small change to their macaroni cheese recipe.
Meanwhile Arran Dairies will soon launch a lower calorie ice cream and Macsween of Edinburgh is working with ingredient manufacturer Ulrick & Short to reduce the fat content of their traditional haggis recipe.
Scotland’s national chef Gary Maclean, added: “Scotland has a larder and food traditions that are the envy of Europe, but we have some work to do to improve our diets. It is great to see positive action towards a healthier Scotland and to see the incredible talent we have working towards this.”