British retailers have called for the government to take tougher action on tackling obesity and consider mandatory measures to ensure more companies make their products healthier.

Public health bosses have urged food manufacturers to make chips, pizzas, crisps and burgers healthier, and ministers are expected to issue “strong guidance” on how to reformulate products popular with children.

However, the British Retail Consortium, which represents more than 90 retailers including major chains Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, said the government would need to move beyond voluntary agreements if it wanted to make a real difference.

“We believe voluntary approaches only take us so far,” said Andrea Martinez-Inchausti, deputy director of food and sustainability at the BRC.

“If you really want to make a difference then there is a need for stronger measures. Taxes might be one of way of doing it but there are alternatives to taxes such as mandatory targets.”

A new emphasis on sources of calories from a wide range of ingredients comes as the government prepares to introduce a tax on sugary soft drinks next year prompted by growing concern that children’s waistlines are expanding.

More than 40,000 deaths a year – one in 10 – are linked to people being dangerously overweight, health experts say.

Public Health England has said it will start by investigating how many calories foods popular with children contain and issue what ministers say will be “strong guidance” on reformulating them.

The government believes that setting mandatory targets through legislation may result in less ambitious targets that can take longer to implement.

Martinez-Inchausti said the industry had already taken major steps to make food healthier by, for example, introducing baked crisps and popcorn as an alternative to traditional crisps, and moves to reduce sugar and salt in many products. As much as 200,000 tons of sugar is expected to be taken out of snacks and meals annually by 2020 as part of a deal with the confectionery industry.



Nestlé, Greggs, Starbucks, Kellogg’s and other firms have all pledged to cut sugar in their products, as has Suntory, the maker of Lucozade and Ribena, and supermarkets such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and M&S.

But Martinez-Inchausti said voluntary activity tended to rely on the same 80 or so responsible companies and the government’s priority should be to engage a broader range of businesses. She pointed to restaurant and catering businesses as well as smaller companies as examples of those who could take more action.

The Children’s Food Campaign also said the government needed to take tougher action as it had so far “provided thin gruel for parents and health professionals keen to see significant progress on tackling childhood obesity”.

It said action by PHE and the NHS to reduce sugar consumption had not been matched by other government departments. It singled out the Department for Education, which it said had not met a pledge to encourage free schools and academies to meet school food standards and had cut promised funding for the healthy pupils capital fund which was supposed to support PE, healthy eating and after-school activities.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government’s approach to tackling childhood obesity was comprehensive involving schools, the NHS, local authorities and business to promote healthy eating, physical activity and behaviour change.

The department said “every penny” of the estimated £775m raised by 2020 through the Soft Drink Industry Levy, known as the sugar tax, would be spent on improving child health including doubling the PE and Sports Premium for schools to £320m a year. The DfE is also investing £100m in capital funding in the next financial year to improve sports facilities and activities in schools.

The Food & Drink Federation, which represents British food manufacturers and processors, said that the industry had a “proud track record of reformulation to remove salt, fat and sugar from food and drinks”.

“This work will continue as we rise to the challenge of PHE’s sugar reduction targets and engage with this new focus on calories,” a spokesperson said.

“We are pleased that the government has confirmed the broadening of its focus beyond just sugar – and towards calories – as it seeks to tackle obesity. FDF has long advocated this ‘whole diet’ approach. Singling out the role of individual ingredients and food groups does not help consumers to make good choices about their diet, lifestyle or general health.”