Obesity crisis: Supermarkets to be fined if they don’t hit healthy eating targets including new store layouts, price promotions and improved recipes

We have all been tempted to buy naughty treats while shopping but new measures revealed today could force supermarkets to play a bigger role in easing the obesity crisis.

A new Government plan to tackle obesity will see supermarkets fined if they do not sell healthier food and just promote calorific junk.

The “healthy food standard” will apply to retailers and manufacturers in England as part of a 10-year strategy to cut diet-related diseases, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

Initially developed by innovation agency Nesta, the policy introduces mandatory health targets for retailers while giving them flexibility in how to meet them, such as by tweaking recipes, running price promotions on healthier items, or redesigning store layouts.

Supermarkets will be required to report sales data and those that fail to hit targets could face financial penalties, Nesta suggested.