15 March 2022

With Covid-19 restrictions a thing of the past and many making their return to the workplace, lunchtime meal deals are making a comeback. In their heyday, 1 in 3 consumers reported buying one at least twice a week. And who could blame them? Their price and convenience make them hard to resist. But whilst they might be good for our pockets, are they good for our health? 

 

Our new report, out today, looked at the nutritional profile of snack products included as part of meal deal promotions available across the high street. What did we find? Well, those looking for healthy options will find slim pickings.

 

So what is on offer? Crisps and confectionery products dominate most stores’ snack offering (more than 50% collectively), with fruit and vegetables accounting for only 5% – hardly a choice for us is there?

 

We know what ISN’T on offer, but what can we say about what is? Some snacks contain over a third of your maximum daily allowance for salt, and a third (30%) exceed the UK Government salt targets, despite nearly two decades of voluntary efforts to reduce the huge and unnecessary amounts of salt in our food.  Snacks bought as part of a meal deal in Morrisons are more likely to fail to meet their salt target (46%) compared to snacks sold at Sainsbury’s (19%).    

 

Too much salt in the diet raises blood pressure, which is the most common yet preventable cause of death and suffering. But it isn’t the only issue; many of these snacks were also high in saturated fat and sugars, with ASDA and Subway providing the highest proportion (82%) of unhealthy snacks in their meal deal promotions. Excess consumption of these foods, which are often seen on promotion throughout the store, lead to greater risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and are most prevalent in socially disadvantaged groups.

 

This begs the question: how are we expected to make a healthier choice, when we are limited by the options available to us?  Food companies can, and should play a valuable role in better options, to make the healthier choice, the easier choice for all. We, and many other health organisations, have been campaigning to improve our food environment for years, but this has fallen on deaf ears. Previous attempts by the Government to encourage voluntary reformulation have failed which is why stronger measures are urgently needed to address the country’s health inequalities.

 

We need more action. Plain and simple. If the food industry aren’t willing to make the necessary changes of their own accord, then the government must step in. We need mandatory comprehensive salt reduction targets with penalties for those food companies who fail to comply.  This has been a threat to industry for years - now is the time to follow through with that promise to protect our health for future generations.