UK food businesses and investors have called upon the government to introduce tighter regulations in the food industry to tackle unhealthy diets.
Tesco, Iceland and Nomads Foods have come together to urge for mandatory reporting on the percentages of profit made from sales of products of high in fat, salt and sugar, reported the Financial Times.
Among other requests, the businesses have asked for ministers to implement road maps for legislation to “incentivise healthier diets”.
Birds Eye-owner Nomad Foods group nutrition leader Lauren Woodley said: “Clearly there is a childhood obesity crisis and it’s getting worse…We would welcome a raft of different reforms to incentivise healthier diets.”
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“A tax that is well thought out that looks at HFSS foods is a lever which the government could use, but it comes with the strong caveat that taxation alone doesn’t shift behaviour,” she said.
Tesco head of health Oonagh Turnbull said the “stop-start” approach of the last government to introducing reforms had posed a challenge for retailers.
“We’ve got a massive role to play but to make a real difference, we need the whole industry to play by the same rules,” Turnbull said. “We believe the reformulation wouldn’t have happened at the same scale and pace if it hadn’t been for the [HFSS] legislation. It drove change.”
The new calls follow the government confirming earlier this month that it will introduce a ban on junk food adverts being shown on TV before 9pm.
It comes amid existing legislation the government implemented in 2022, which saw the introduction of high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) regulations on products deemed ‘unhealthy’, and removed them from store entrances, gondola ends and checkouts.
