The Welsh government is offering up £1 million in funding to make children’s food and drink healthier and more affordable.
Companies and research organisations are being asked to apply for a share of the grant money, by proposing solutions focused on reducing levels of salt, sugar and saturated fat while increasing levels of vitamins, minerals and fibre in food and drink for children.
Innovative production methods might include new processing technologies, reformulation techniques, enabling technologies, new engineering designs and flexible manufacturing processes, to help drive down costs.
By the age of 11, more than 40 per cent of Welsh children are either obese or overweight and research shows that the vast majority of obese children remain so into adulthood.
This has a significant impact on the economy, with obesity estimated to have cost the NHS in Wales £73 million in 2011. Between £1.4 million and £1.65 million is spent each week treating diseases resulting from obesity.
Schools have a key role to play in providing children with access to nutritious and healthy food and the Welsh government is inviting applications aimed at boosting the nutritional value of school meals, while ensuring they remain affordable.
The competition was launched at Wales’ first major food event, Taste Wales, which brought together Welsh food manufacturers and producers with international buyers.
The cabinet secretary for environment and rural affairs, Lesley Griffiths, said:“This programme is a call to our food innovators in Wales to help us improve the health of our children by providing good quality and nourishing food, whilst keeping costs down.
“The Welsh food and drink industry can be proud of its record in innovation, in launching new products and driving up standards, and I’m now appealing to you to use your skills, talents and creativity, to tackle one of the greatest challenges of all – improving the diets of our children today, to enable them to become the healthy young adults of tomorrow.”
In addition to improving children’s’ diets, the programme is expected to have wider benefits, including, providing financial savings for schools, boosting the food industry in Wales and further enhancing its reputation for research and innovation.
The funding is being provided through the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) of the Welsh government and the UK’s innovation agency Innovate UK.
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