Food giants will fail to hit the Government’s target of cutting sugar by a fifth by the end of the decade

Food giants will fail to hit the Government’s target of cutting sugar by a fifth by the end of the decade, ministers were told last night.

Leading brands blasted the “arbitrary” goals and will instead push for alternative incentives to reduce sugar consumption.

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A representative of major firms including Mars, Cadbury, Nestle and Kellogs told The Times they were still committed to cutting down on the amount of sugar in food and drink – just not to the Government’s target of cutting it by 20 per cent by 2020.

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The goal was one of the few measures Theresa May kept after canning much of David Cameron’s plan for fighting child obesity last summer.

But the hated sugar tax on soft drinks is still going ahead. The anti-obesity levy will slap 18p onto a litre of drinks with more than 5g of sugar per 100ml – rising to 24p for those with 8g or more from April next year.

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This heftier levy will apply to drinks such as “red” Coke, which will go up by 8p per can.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt signalled the Government is prepared to take action against food giants that fail to cut down on sugar.

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He told food companies in September that “doing nothing was not an option”.