Industry welcomes government commitment to mandatory healthy food standard

Food makers and retailers will “make the healthy choice the easy choice” in a first-of-its-kind collaboration between industry and government to combat the obesity epidemic and relieve burden on the NHS as part of the Plan for Change.

Large retailers, including supermarkets, will establish a new benchmark to make the typical shopping basket of products sold a little healthier as part of the upcoming 10-year health plan. The Department of Health and Social Care has called for a ‘Healthy food revolution to tackle obesity epidemic’

Companies will be allowed to comply with the standard however best suits them, which may include reworking recipes and product formulations, altering store designs, providing discounts on nutritious foods, or modifying loyalty programs to encourage healthier choices.

Public health experts believe cutting the calorie count of a daily diet by just 50 calories would lift 340,000 children and 2 million adults out of obesity. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by just 216 calories a day, equivalent to a single bottle of fizzy drink, obesity would be halved.

Through the Plan for Change, the government is shifting the focus from treatment to prevention and creating a more active state – that works with partners to make the healthy choice the easy choice – and a transition of the NHS from a sickness service to a prevention service.

The policy will see all big food businesses report on healthy food sales. The aim is to set full transparency and accountability around the food that businesses are selling and encourage healthier products.

The government will then set targets to increase the healthiness of sales in communities across the UK and work with the Food Strategy Advisory Board on the sequencing of the policy.

Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance described it as a fair and evidence-based prescription for better health, saying businesses urgently need the government to level the playing field to help them focus on selling products that help people live well.

“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,” Jenner said.

A spokesperson from Nomad Foods, owner of Birds Eye, Goodfella’s and Aunt Bessie’s said they welcomed the move by the UK Government requiring 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,” the spokesperson said. “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.”

Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO, said: “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. 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. We look forward to working with them on the detail of the Healthy Food Standard and its implementation by all relevant food businesses.”

Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s noted the importance of the announcement from Government, calling it a “positive step forward in helping the nation to eat well”.

“We need a level playing field across the entirety of our food sector for these actions to have a real and lasting impact,” Roberts added. “We look forward to working across Government and our wider industry on the further development of these policies and in helping to drive improved health outcomes across our nation.”

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said Which? research has shown that people want retailers to do more to support them in making healthier choices. Six in 10 (60%) consumers said they support the government introducing health targets for supermarkets.

“Mandatory food targets will help to incentivise retailers to use the range of tactics available to them to make small but significant changes – making it easier for people to eat a balanced diet and lead healthier lives ” she said.

The changes are part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, due to be published shortly.