The first major review of the food system recommended a levy of £3 per kilo for sugar and £6 per kilo for salt sold wholesale for use in processed foods which will aim to encourage manufacturers to reduce their use in products as part of efforts to curb obesity, strokes and heart disease.

The National Food Strategy report, which was commissioned by the UK government in 2019, said the UK population’s ‘malfunctioning’ appetites and poor diets, which is fuelled by consumer and manufacturers’ reliance on processed food, contributes to 64,000 deaths each year and costs the economy an estimated £74bn.

The report also said fruit and vegetable consumption must rise by 50% in the next 10 years, while consumption of food high in saturated fat, salt, and sugar must fall by 25%. Meat consumption must also fall by 30% by 2032 if the UK is going to combat the interlinked climate, nature, and health crises.