Food retailers pushed to make healthy options more appealing

23 minutes ago Share Save Nick Triggle • @nicktriggle Health correspondent Share Save

BBC

Rachel Muller-Heyndyk BBC News

Food businesses must make it easier for customers to buy healthy food, under new government plans announced on Sunday. Supermarkets and food manufacturers in England will partner with the government to tackle obesity rates by encouraging people to make their weekly shop healthier. Ministers say it will be up to food retailers to decide how they do that, but it could involve offering promotions on healthy food, tweaking loyalty points to incentivise healthy options, or changing shop layouts. It may also involve changing products to make them healthier.

It is hoped the plans will help to make healthy eating more accessible to customers and relieve pressure on the NHS. The policy will see major food retailers report on healthy food sales in a bid to increase accountability, but it does not impose specific targets. The plan is part of a raft of measures aimed at improving the health of the nation that will be included in the 10-year plan for the NHS in England, which is expected to be published next week. “Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said. “This government’s ambition for kids today is for them to be part of the healthiest generation of children ever. That is within our grasp.” The upcoming report will show that more than one in five children are living with obesity by the time they leave primary school, rising to almost one in three in the most deprived areas. A recent report found a basket of healthy food costs more than double that of less healthy options. The Food Foundation reported that 1,000 calories of healthy food such as fruit and veg costs £8.80, compared to £4.30 for the equivalent amount of less healthy food, such as ready meals and processed meats.

Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium said the news is “really positive” but said “all food businesses” must work together to drive down obesity. “Engaging all food businesses makes a difference,” Opie told the BBC. “It can’t just be about supermarkets- we consume about a quarter of our calories outside the home, so unless we get all supermarkets, food retailers, and restaurants on board, we won’t move the dial on obesity.” Opie said that he agreed with the government’s flexible approach on the standards, as businesses have “a lot of insights and data” into how we shop for food and what would be best for their customers. Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance said: “The government has rightly identified the root cause of obesity-related ill health: a food system that makes healthy eating difficult.” She said it was encouraging to see the government putting the spotlight on businesses “rather than placing the burden on individuals who are already struggling to get by.”