The nation's drinks lobby says the industry is on track to meet a voluntary 10 per cent reduction in the amount of sugar in drinks by 2020, but has dismissed calls for a sugar tax.
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The Australian Beverages Council on Monday released a commissioned report from KPMG in Canberra, which showed a seven per cent reduction in the amount of sugar in drinks between 2015 to 2018.
Chief executive Geoff Parker said the reduction meant the sector was on target for a 20 per cent reduction by 2025.
The industry pledge was made last year in June to reduce total grams of sugar per 100 millilitres sold from 2015.
But the reduction only applies to the companies who have signed on to the pledge - Coca Cola, PepsiCo and Asahi - and is voluntary.
Australia's top medical body repeated its calls for a sugar tax recently in its national scorecard on the state of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
The Australian Medical Association said a sugar tax would help curb obesity but Mr Parker said the industry was not on board.
"This pledge is in actual fact the antithesis of the sugar tax," he said.
"Taxes are quite frankly, siloed thinking, so 'Ban this or tax' is really something that belongs in the last decade."
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the new figures were an important milestone.
"If we can do these things without a mandatory target, I think that's always better," Mr Hunt said.
The Obesity Policy Coalition's Jane Martin said the seven per cent reduction was a "feeble attempt to avoid real change".
"This is little more than an attempt to capitalise on the low-sugar trend and drive sales," she said.
"The reason for any reduction, albeit modest, is due to a general shift toward low sugar beverages, coupled with venues starting to remove high-sugar products from sale."
Ms Martin said there was no actual reduction in the amount of sugar in non-diet or sugar-free drinks and the issue required stronger mandatory action.
But this target also includes smaller serving sizes and the increase in the sale of diet or no sugar drinks.
In 2015, the baseline sugar content for beverages sold by the pledging companies was 6.02 grams per 100 millilitres. In 2018 it was 5.59 grams per 100 millilitres.
Australian Associated Press
