Originally published December 8 2005
Consumer group reveals unhealthy practices of supermarkets in Britain
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A report by the National Consumer Council (NCC) in Britain states that supermarkets are clearing unhealthy foods from their shelves but promoting those foods heavily, mainly through "buy one, get one free" campaigns as a means of quickly clearing their stock.
Supermarket chains are going out of their way to clear unhealthy foods stocks by offering discounts on the same, a report by the National Consumer Council (NCC) said.
It has also emerged that unhealthy items including "fatty and sugary" consumables were doubly promoted as compared to healthy options like fresh fruits and vegetables.
The NCC surveyed ten grocery chains and found that all of them, with the exception of Marks & Spencer to an extent, were guilty of promoting unhealthy foods in a big way.
No store came close to the NCC's target of devoting a third of the promotions to healthy food items.
Marks & Spencer came very close with 27 percent deals, while Co-op had the dubious distinction of having the worst record with 37 percent of its promotions featuring fatty foods.
"The dominance of Morrisons, Sommerfield, Iceland and Tesco at the lower end of our ranking again illustrates our conclusion that retailers' practices are contributing to, or exacerbating, the inequalities that exist between the diet and health of more affluent and less affluent consumers," the NCC said in the report.
Official figures have found that there has been little change in the eating habits of this segment of the society and obesity if the number one concern here.
But the NCC report was satisfied with the improvements effected by the retailers in cutting salt from food items and also improving the labeling on these items.
Marks & Spencer and Waitrose were a joint second.
Morrisons responded to this report by issuing a statement that said, "The National Consumer Council's report is inaccurate and does not present a true reflection of our approach to 'health responsibility', failing to recognize the progress we have made."
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