Liberalising agricultural policy for sugar in Europe risks damaging public health

2] etary sugars (non-milk extrinsic sugars) made up about 15% and 12% of dietary calories among UK children and adults, respectively, in 2012. 7 So far, relatively little attention has been given to important structural factors, including in agriculture, which influence sugar consumption in the UK. 12-14 3] For the past decade, the EU has been phasing out these protections ("liberalisation"). This process will be nearly complete by 2017. We describe the effect liberalisation may have on the production, price, and addition of sugars to processed foods.