Marks & Spencer's Report Reveals Britons Are Failing to Meet Fibre Intake Goals

Marks & Spencer has published a report entitled Bridge Britain’s Fibre Gap, which uncovers where consumers are falling short in their fibre intake as it aims to tackle the issue. The survey, carried out by the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, some 96% of Britons are not eating the 30g required fibre to support immune function and prevent chronic health conditions such as heart disease, type II diabetes and bowel cancer. Consumers are reportedly eating only about half of the required amount, while a quarter of those surveyed struggled to identify fibre-rich food sources. Some 92% of those surveyed said they want support on increasing their fibre intake, and so M&S is taking steps to bridge this gap. The retailer labels grammage of fibre on the back of pack for all its products, even though this is not mandatory under currently legislation, and as a result it is calling for clearer and more consistent labelling across the industry to help consumers up their fibre intake. This month, M&S launched its Nutrient Dense range, with 20 products that all contain a source of fibre, or another key mineral people in the UK are deficit in. Each product clearly labels the amount of fibre so shoppers can take the guesswork out of meeting their daily fibre goals. Marks & Spencer is the latest retailer to target fibre intake, with Lidl Ireland announcing its own fibre strategy earlier this month. ‘Bridging The Fibre Gap’ Commenting on the gap, head of nutrition at M&S Food Grace Ricotti said, “There is clear evidence linking fibre to improved health outcomes, which is why we’re sharing our research and insights about Britain’s Fibre Gap, and what to do about it. “We support collaboration between government and industry to prioritise fibre-rich products, effective communication around fibre and its public health benefits. “Our report includes practical steps to drive fibre consumption including clearer labelling on pack, fibre-enrichment of products like bread and more flexibility for retailers to make fibre claims so that it’s easy for consumers to see which products are high in fibre.” Chief executive of the British Nutrition Foundation Elaine Hindal added, “The low fibre intakes that we see in the UK population reflect poor dietary patterns with a lack of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, pulses and other plant foods. “Evidence shows that low fibre diets increase the risk of diet-related disease including heart-disease, type-2 diabetes and bowel cancer and so increasing fibre intakes is vital to improve population health. “We welcome this new report, encouraging industry to take action to support consumers in bridging the fibre gap and making fibre-rich choices easier and more appealing.”