Morrisons is set to introduce new health labels for 600 products by the end of the year, a fortnight after being accused of “lagging behind” on healthy food sales.
The Big 4 grocer claimed the UK’s nutrient profiling model is not fit for purpose, classing some pizzas as healthy foods.
Instead, it will combine the existing model with the French Nutriscore system and the Australian Health Star Rating.
The labels will also feature the “traffic light” grading of foods from red to green, which was introduced by the Department of Health in 2013 and is currently being reviewed by ministers.
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The news comes after a trillion-dollar group of shareholders, coordinated by investment group ShareAction, criticised Morrisons’ healthy food commitments.
“We are committed to helping our customers make healthier choices and we are supportive of measuring performance and setting meaningful targets,” a Morrisons spokesman told The Grocer.
“We already publish the proportion of our own-brand products which are classed as healthy and have a commitment to increase this.”
However, the investors argue that the supermarket should commit to raising its sales of healthy foods, not just the amount it stocks.
A separate report from the Food Foundation found that “encouraging healthy diets” was Morrisons’ weakest area of 10 sustainability targets.
