Tesco has teamed up with its health charity partners Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK to call on the UK government to bring in new laws requiring supermarkets and food firms to report on sales of healthy products.

The supermarket and the charities have written an open letter to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting calling for mandatory healthy food reporting.

They say the move will help people to live longer and lead healthier lives as well as support the UK economy, as obesity costs the NHS around £6.5bn a year.

The reporting of healthier food sales should be based on an agreed and consistent set of health metrics, they argue.

“There are more people living with obesity in the UK than ever before,” said Tesco Group chief executive Ken Murphy.

“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.”

Tesco is among those in the food sector that already report on healthy food sales and is on track to meet its target of 65% healthier sales by the end of this year. This has been achieved by voluntarily removing multi-buy options on less healthy products and reformulating its own brand products with reduced salt, fat and sugar.

British Health Foundation chief executive Charmaine Griffiths added: “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.

“We urge governments across the UK to adopt this measure as soon as possible. Doing so would mark a major step forward towards a world in which people's hearts are healthier, for longer.”

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