Brussels, 28 June 2021: Today, CEEREAL, the European association representing the breakfast cereals and oat milling industry, launched its manifesto “From Seed to Spoon”, laying out four commitments that will help achieve balanced diets and sustainable food systems. CEEREAL members want to make sure that people in Europe have access to a broad range of breakfast cereals that are nutritious, sustainable and enjoyable.
Nina Peacock, President of CEEREAL, underlines: “A lot of progress has already been achieved, and Europe’s breakfast cereal and oat milling industry continues to raise the bar: between 2015 and 2020, CEEREAL members have reduced sugar by 10.2%, increased the fibre content by 8.9% and whole grain by 17.2%. We have come a long way and we will continue with our efforts to go further.”
The four commitments are
- To further improve the nutritional value of breakfast cereals, for example, by helping people eat more fibre and whole grains and by continuing efforts to reduce sugar and maintaining low levels of salt.
- To help people choose a safe, nutritious and balanced breakfast, for example, by contributing to the development of harmonised front-of-nutrition labelling and continuing to provide good value per bowl of breakfast cereals.
- To continue to advertise responsibly and promote the benefits of breakfast, for example, by not engaging in marketing communications to children in primary schools, early childhood education centres or children’s care service centres across the EU. As the best way to start the day, we will continue to promote the benefits of breakfast overall.
- To step up efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of breakfast cereal production and consumption, for example, by working together with farmers to promote the uptake of regenerative agricultural principles and practices, responsible sourcing as well as packaging reduction and recyclability.
The commitments are intrinsically linked to the ambitions of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, which aims to build a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. The manifesto also explains the need for a collaborative effort from both the private and public sector and for an enabling policy framework.
The full manifesto is available on our landing page: www.from-seed-to-spoon.info