Tesco and leading charities demand mandatory health reporting to combat obesity crisis

Founded in 2018, the health charity partnership between Tesco, Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK has focused on collaborative efforts to improve the nation’s diet and reduce the burden of diet-related diseases. Credit: Tesco

Tesco, together with three leading UK health charities, is urging the Government to mandate transparent food sales reporting to tackle the UK’s obesity crisis.

In an open letter to the Health and Social Care Secretary, Tesco, Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK are calling for mandatory industry-wide standards that would require supermarkets and major food businesses to report the proportion of their food sales considered “healthy”.

The announcement came at Tesco’s Health Charity Partnership summit last week, where Group CEO Ken Murphy joined forces with charity leaders to advocate for urgent policy change.

Founded in 2018, the health charity partnership between Tesco, Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK has focused on collaborative efforts to improve the nation’s diet and reduce the burden of diet-related diseases.

Murphy said:

There are more people living with obesity in the UK than ever before. Tesco, along with the food industry, has a critical part to play in supporting preventive health measures, through giving access to affordable, healthier, quality food.

Through our partnership with Diabetes UK, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, we have shown that collaboration can drive meaningful change. But to truly support public health, we need consistent, transparent reporting across the industry.

We urge the UK Government to take this important step forward to make healthier food sales reporting mandatory.”

Clearer picture of public health

Obesity-related illnesses, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, cost the NHS around £6.5 billion per year. Yet progress towards healthier diets is hard to track, due to inconsistent data on what food retailers are actually selling.

Tesco’s coalition argues that standardised health metrics would give policymakers, health bodies and industry professionals a clearer picture of where progress is being made and where further action is needed.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, backed the call: “A healthy, balanced diet is essential to good heart health throughout our lives, and the major supermarkets have a key role in helping people achieve this.

“There is no doubt that mandatory reporting on healthier food sales will drive improvements across the food industry, and it is great to see a leading retailer like Tesco already transparently sharing their progress.”

Tesco’s progress and the call for government action

Tesco is already reporting voluntarily and is on track to meet its pledge of making 65 percent of food sales healthier by the end of 2025. This progress has been achieved through reformulating own-brand products to lower salt, fat and sugar, and voluntarily scrapping multi-buy promotions on less healthy items.

However, the retailer has stressed that it cannot transform the industry alone. Government enforcement is needed to bring the rest of the sector in line.

“Being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and is linked with 13 different types,” Michelle Mitchell, CEO of Cancer Research UK, added. “The world around us can make it difficult to keep a healthy weight. Supermarkets can play a major role in supporting people to make healthy choices, and as Tesco is showing, we need government action to ensure this happens across the UK.”

She also called for full implementation of unhealthy food and drink advertising restrictions, arguing that mandatory sales reporting would amplify the impact of existing regulation.

With rates of type 2 diabetes continuing to rise, Colette Marshall, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, called for “bold action” to reverse this trend.

“The food industry has a key part to play here, in making healthy, affordable choices accessible to everyone. That’s why this call, with Tesco and our health charity partners, is significant because it would improve transparency and ensure businesses can be held to account.