Proposals for new taxes on wholesale sugar and salt mean the price of goods containing those ingredients will likely increase.

Members of the food and health and safety industries give their insight into how this will affect them and the wider implications of the legislation.

Carl Mannion, 39, from the Wirral is a member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (MCIEH) with a bias in food safety and food manufacturing. He is the founder of health and safety consultancy firm Better Safety.

Carl has spent most of his health and safety career encouraging people to make positive choices that lead to healthy outcomes in areas like construction, manufacturing and engineering.

On the impacts on people’s health, he said: “The food processing industry very rarely removes an ingredient with a high ‘crave-ability’ (a food industry term for addiction) without adding substitute ingredients.

“An example of this happened some decades ago when food manufacturers were castigated for having too much fat in their processed foods, leading to an obesity crisis in many western countries. Governments and health bodies insisted something be done, so the food manufacturers removed the fat and replaced it with tastier (crave-able) alternatives – sugar and salt.

“Generally, less sugar and less salt in comparison to the UK rates of consumption is a great idea. Health issues linked to nutrition are anticipated to be the single largest drain on healthcare in the UK within our lifetimes. Anything that slows or prevents this has to be a good thing.”

On people moving to lower salt and sugar alternatives, Carl said: “Sugar tax is relatively new in the UK so research conducted into its impact has not been accurately compiled yet. However, data appearing in the British Medical Journal suggests that people are still consuming as many fizzy drinks as in the previous year but the manufacturers are responsible for lowering the sugars in those drinks.

“The research also suggested that people still purchased the same amount of confectionery and alcoholic drinks (both directly containing or creating sugars in the body once consumed).

“It is the food manufacturers and processors that are the main reactionists to the sugar and salt taxes because it is their products that are ultimately affected.”

On how food manufacturers will be impacted, he said: “Food producers will be working hard in the background to reformulate their products so that they can avoid additional levies and charges made by the so-called sugar tax.

“This also applies to producers of processed foods such as microwave meals and preserved foods. Food producers will likely seek to promote a range of ‘healthy options’ as they did in the 80s and 90s when promoting fat-free products that were loaded with sugar instead.

“Some food producers already formulate their products with natural sweeteners such as stevia but soft drinks contain a number of additives with very little evidence on their effects. Problems might become apparent in the 2030s and beyond.

“I predict heavy investment in the marketing of low or zero sugar foods and drinks within the next two years as the food industry seeks to maximise their profit from the eating habits already firmly established within their customer base.

“What other cheap but addictive ingredients will be replacing sugar and salt remains to be seen.

“There will always exist a number of foods high in sugar and salt for consumption by those who either aren’t aware of their risks or are simply too addicted to change habits.”

Manchester-based Joe Darwen, 35, from Veo, which sells eco-conscious food and health goods, said: “Obesity and its associated complications are major threats to the population and the sugar and salt content in much of our food is undoubtedly a negative influence.

“Taxes on foods high in sugar and salt may reduce consumption, although taxing our food will always be a cause of controversy due to the disproportionate impact on low-income families.

“This is why Veo is focused on championing healthier alternatives and bringing them to the mainstream. There are plenty of small, independent food producers that are dedicated to using natural, unrefined sugars and sweeteners, many of which are available on Veo.

“We hope that if such a tax is introduced, it will encourage more food producers to take this route, keeping production costs lower and facilitating a future wherein healthy food is accessible for all.”

Nikki Brun from London’s The Chef and The Shoegirl argued: “Sugar tax demonises sugar unnecessarily. It’s a natural preservative and we use it in our jams and chutneys.

“Although the tax won’t affect us (we don’t buy huge wholesale amounts) the headlines scare everyone.

“The current food scapegoat is sugar, it’ll be the turn of fat next.

“Keep food as unprocessed as possible, make sure you know what’s in it and if the worst thing you do all day is eat some sugar in moderation, things aren’t going too badly!”