The Health Secretary Wes Streeting says a new partnership announced this week between major food retailers and the Government signals the beginning of a “healthy food revolution”. 

The Government says the initiative will see food retailers and manufacturers prioritise “making the healthy choice the easy choice”, in a concerted effort to tackle the obesity epidemic and ease pressure on the NHS. 

As part of the Government’s forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan, large retailers including supermarkets will be set a new standard to make the average shopping basket of goods sold “slightly healthier”.

But while the initiative has been welcomed by some health campaigners, others warn that it suffers from “critical limitations” and risks being undermined by a political instinct “to appease industry”.

Ministers say businesses will be “given the freedom to meet the standard however works best for them” – whether that’s reformulating products and tweaking recipes, changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options.

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. Obesity is currently estimated to cost the NHS £11.4 billion a year, three times the NHS budget for ambulance services.

Commenting on the Government’s ‘Plan for Change’ on obesity, the 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.

“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. With the smart steps we’re taking today, we can give every child a healthy start to life.”

The Government claims its plans will create a level playing field within the food retail industry by setting standards on healthier eating for the whole industry to meet. 

Commenting on this, Sarah Price, NHS England Director for Public Health, said: “Major investment firms have already signalled that they would be keen to invest more in healthier products, if they were given due prominence and promotion by food retailers.

“Many supermarkets want to do more to make the average shopping basket healthier, but they risk changes hitting their bottom lines if their competitors don’t act at the same time. The new standard will introduce a level playing field, so there isn’t a first mover disadvantage.”

Welcoming the development the former Government Food Tsar and author of the National Food Strategy, Henry Dimbleby, said: “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.

“It’s fantastic to see food retailers themselves calling for this. With proper data, we can start to reshape the food system and make healthier choices easier for everyone.”

But the former health minister and public health campaigner Lord Bethell, while welcoming aspects of the Governments plan, warned that the initiative suffered “critical limitations”. Posting on LinkedIn he said: “They (the Government) are abandoning the NHS to fight alone – no support from the rest of government on sugar taxes, advertising restrictions, etc. It’s not the NHS’s job to battle obesity, dirty air, internet filth, mouldy homes, booze and slot machines. It’ll break if you don’t protect it.

“Supermarket partnership and data transparency are nice gestures, but a small part of the solution, particularly for poorer communities.”

The initiative has already been back by Tesco, Sainsbury’s and the Food & Drink Federation.

Photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash