Tesco has joined three leading health charities to urge the Government to make healthier food sales reporting mandatory for all supermarkets and major food businesses. 

The supermarket giant made the call in a joint letter with Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK. 

The move comes amid frustration at ministerial reluctance to act more decisively in tackling Britain’s obesity crisis, estimated to be costing the NHS around £6.5 billion a year. Last month, the former Government Food Tsar, Henry Dimbley, said that when his team were collected evidence for the National Food Strategy, leading food firms said privately that highly processed and HFSS products were so profitable that they needed to regulated. 

Tesco and its charity partners say want the Government to implement mandatory healthier food sales reporting, using a set of agreed and consistent health metrics, to improve the health of the nation.

Obesity increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other conditions. The letter argus that it is essential that the food industry works together to support the UK Government’s approach to preventing ill health, but that with an inconsistency in how businesses report on the healthiness of their food and drink sales, it is difficult to assess progress that the industry is making. 

Tesco claims it is committed to taking a leading role in supporting customers to lead healthier lives and tackling the barriers that they face including affordability, lack of access to healthy food, or a lack of time, knowledge or inspiration when making healthier choices.  It says that increased transparency in healthier food sales reporting can support more evidence-led policy and better-targeted health interventions.

Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO said: “There are more people living with obesity in the UK than ever before. Tesco, along with the food industry, has a critical part to play in supporting preventive health measures, through giving access to affordable, healthier, quality food. Through our partnership with Diabetes UK, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, we have shown that collaboration can drive meaningful change. But to truly support public health, we need consistent, transparent reporting across the industry. We urge the UK Government to take this important step forward to make healthier food sales reporting mandatory.”

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation said: “There is no doubt that mandatory reporting on healthier food sales will drive improvements across the food industry. We urge governments across the UK to adopt this measure as soon as possible. Doing so would mark a major step forward towards a world in which people’s hearts are healthier, for longer.”

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said:

“Being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and is linked with 13 different types.

“The world around us can make it difficult to keep a healthy weight. Supermarkets can play a major role in supporting people to make healthy choices. As well as fully implementing legislation to restrict the advertising and price promotion of unhealthy food and drink, the UK Government must go further by introducing mandatory reporting on healthy food sales. These steps will ensure that everyone can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”

Colette Marshall, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK said: “With the numbers of people living with type 2 diabetes rising in the UK, and millions more at high risk of developing it, bold action is needed to reverse this alarming trend.

“The food industry has a key part to play here, in making healthy, affordable choices accessible to everyone. That’s why this call, with Tesco and our health charity partners, is significant because it would improve transparency and ensure businesses can be held to account.

The development has been welcomed by The Food Foundation. It posted on LinkedIn: “Mandatory reporting has many benefits including helping policymakers in accelerating change, creating a level playing field to de-risk business investment into healthier and more sustainable sales, help businesses identify improved business models, and enable investors to align their investments with responsible stewardship objectives.”