Food manufacturers and supermarkets will be required to encourage people to buy healthier food and drink to tackle the UK’s obesity epidemic.
The Government made an announcement on Sunday (29th June) calling it a “world-first” partnership between government and industry, including food producers and retailers, to tackle the obesity epidemic and ease pressure on the NHS as part of the Plan for Change.
The proposals are to be set out in the forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan that is set to be released by Health Secretary Wes Streeting this week.
Reports indicate that those failing to meet the requirements could face fines, although the details of these are yet to be unveiled.
As part of the plan food manufacturers and supermarkets must “make the heathy choice the easy choice”.
The policy will mean that all big food businesses will need to report on healthy food sales, with the Government setting targets to increase the healthiness of sales in communities across the UK.
Food manufacturers and supermarkets will need to work with the Food Strategy Advisory Board on the sequencing of this policy.
Businesses will be given the freedom to meet the standard in way that works best for them. This could be through reformulating products and tweaking recipes, to changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options.
Health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year, triple the budget for ambulance services. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable.”
He added: “Our brilliant supermarkets already do so much work for our communities and are trying to make their stores heathier, and we want to work with them and other businesses to create a level playing field. Through our new healthy food standard, we will make the healthy choice the easy choice, because prevention is better than cure.”
Environment secretary Steve Reed said: “Britain has some of the best farmers, growers, food manufacturers and retailers in the world, which means we have more choice than ever before on our shelves.”
He added: “It is vital for the nation that the food industry delivers healthy food, that is available, affordable and appealing.”
Major supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s have welcomed the plan, especially the move to mandatory reporting.
Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO, said that all food businesses have a “critical part” to play in providing good quality, affordable and healthy food.
“At Tesco, we have measured and published our own healthier food sales for a number of years now - we believe it is key to more evidence-led policy and better-targeted health interventions,” said Murphy.
“That’s why we have called for mandatory reporting for all supermarkets and major food businesses and why we welcome the Government’s announcement on this.”
Simon Roberts, the CEO of Sainsbury’s agreed: “We’re passionate about making good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone and have been championing the need for mandatory health reporting, across the food industry for many years.
“We need a level playing field across the entirety of our food sector for these actions to have a real and lasting impact.”
Aldi UK also welcomed the announcement.
“From our Super 6 offers on fresh fruit and vegetables, to our partnership with TeamGB and ParalymicsGB, we know how important a nutritious diet is for our customers,” said Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK.
“We will continue to report on our healthier food sales and look forward to working with the Government and industry to ensure customers always have access to healthy affordable food.”
Meanwhile, Henry Dimbleby, Author of the National Food Strategy and Independent Review for Government said it was “fantastic” to see food retailers calling for this.
“What gets measured gets done. Mandatory reporting is a crucial first step in improving the food environment – it creates a level playing field, rewards the businesses already acting, and gives us a clear picture of what’s really being sold," he added.
A spokesperson from Nomad Foods which owns the likes of Birdseye also welcomed the move for all food businesses to report on the sales of healthier products.
“We have voluntarily disclosed the proportion of our annual sales from healthy products since 2017 and as members of the Food Data Transparency Partnership have supported and publicly called for this action. We believe that industry-wide reporting would increase healthy innovation and reformulation, driving the sale and consumption of tasty, nutritious food, unlocking a healthier UK food system,” they said.
While, Katharine Jenner, director, Obesity Health Alliance writing on Linked In said that the current voluntary system has not worked in driving the change that is needed.
“We can’t let the food industry set, and mark, their own homework,” her post read.
She added in a statement: “The government has rightly identified the root cause of obesity-related ill health: a food system that makes healthy eating difficult. Crucially, it puts the spotlight on the food industry and commits to holding it accountable for providing healthier options - rather than placing the burden on individuals who are already struggling to get by.”
