Credit Crunch

Are credit crunch BOGOFs affecting our health

UK supermarkets have dramatically increased their cut-price promotions of cheap sugary, fatty foods as the credit crunch hits both the companies and their consumers. However, a consumer watchdog has said that this could affect the nation’s health, especially that of children and while it applauds price reductions, it wants supermarkets to incentivise healthy foods too.

Customer incentives such as buy-one-get-one-free offers could ‘directly influence consumers eating habits’, according to a recent report by the National Consumer Council (NCC).

They say that these money-saving opportunities are very important for lower-income families who are feeling the pinch but that these deals are making it more attractive to choose foods that contribute to an unhealthy diet.

The NCC conducted spot-checks at branches of eight leading English supremarket chains in Sheffield. It found more than four thousand promotions, over half of which were promoting foods high in fat and sugar, despite the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advice that these foods should comprise just 7% of our daily diet. They also found that only one in eight promotions featured fruit and veg.

The NCC ranks supermarkets according to up to four health indicators which cover the nutritional content of own-brand processed foods, labelling information and consumer advice, as well as their in-store promotions. Overall, Sainsbury’s came out top for the second successive time with Co-op second, Waitrose third, Marks & Spencer fourth, Asda and Tesco sharing fifth, Somerfield seventh and Morrisons last.

The British Retail Consortium branded the report rubbish, saying that it was a ‘one-off snap shot … in one English city last March’ and that it used ‘misleading comparisons to unfairly criticise retailers’ records on encouraging healthier food choices’.

It added that promotions were balanced across the year and said, ‘Customers will have seen for themselves the current high-profile price war centred on fruit and vegetables.’

Tesco also questioned the NCC’s method of judging the value of nutritional labelling, saying that its bias towards ‘one colour-coded system’ which is recommended by the FSA, confused the facts.

Morrisons also rejected the group’s findings, saying, ‘It’s six months out of date, contains a number of inaccuracies and is a largely subjective assessment.’

A spokeswoman for the NCC discounted the seasonal issue saying, ‘We include frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables. Supermarkets could discount what is there and we did not find they were doing so. A spot-check like this is totally fair. We set out to replicate what it is like for a normal shopper.