The findings show that currently the food environment, from the food being advertised to us, to the food that dominates menus when we eat out, to the price promotions being offered to us in supermarkets, is ‘relentlessly’ pushing consumers to make unhealthy choices.
The new Labour Government has committed to ‘raise the healthiest generation of children ever’, to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy and to strengthen the economy.
The Food Foundation says there is increasing public awareness that this cannot be done without addressing diets and the availability and affordability of healthy food. Obesity and being overweight contribute to around 40,000 deaths a year and cost the UK economy an estimated £98bn annually.
The report found:
- Just five companies (Haribo, Mars, Mondelez, PepsiCo, Kellog’s) are responsible for over 80% of TV ads for snacks and confectionary aired before the watershed, despite all of them claiming not to advertise to children.
- Only one in four major UK food businesses has a healthy sales target and discloses data on the healthiness of their sales.
- Food industry representatives and their trade associations met with Defra ministers a total of 1,377 times between 2020 and 2023. This is over 40 times more meetings than those held between food NGOs and Defra ministers.
The Food Foundation’s annual report includes data from its Plating Up Progress benchmark which monitors 36 major UK food businesses, covering retailers, the Out of Home sector, wholesalers and manufacturers.
The benchmarks looks at which of these businesses are disclosing transparent data on sales, marketing and sourcing and setting targets to support the sales of more healthy and sustainable food.
The Food Foundation is calling on the Government to introduce mandatory reporting by all large food businesses on both the healthiness and sustainability of their sales.
Rebecca Tobi, senior business and investor engagement manager at The Food Foundation, said: “This year’s report demonstrates the huge impact food businesses have in shaping the food we eat – and how the current system is setting us up to fail.
“It’s not right that the most affordable, appealing and convenient options are often the unhealthiest ones. We urgently need the Government to introduce regulation to raise standards and create a level playing field that enables progressive businesses to go further, faster.
“If we are to have any chance of ensuring the next generation are the healthiest ever - as Labour have pledged - then we simply can’t continue to ignore the major role large food companies are playing in shaping UK diets. We need regulation to ensure proper safeguards are in place to make sure businesses act responsibly, supporting people and planet as well as profit.”
The Food Foundation is hosting a webinar today (Thursday 14th November) at 12.30 to discuss their findings. You can sign up here.