Morrisons has firmly refuted accusations that it is not doing enough to reduce the price of healthy food.
The retailer came under attack today from health lobby group the Children’s Food Campaign, which highlighted what it sees as the “warped priorities of Morrisons’ new price cutting initiative.”
The group said it is was shocking that, of the 200 products which formed the latest round of Morrisons’ price cuts at the beginning of June, frozen peas were the only fruit or vegetable making the list.
It also criticised the retailer for including 10 alcohol lines, nine varieties of frozen pizza, seven types of confectionery and cookies, three added sugar aloe vera drinks and two kinds of cake sprinkles.
“This supermarket is often cited as one of the worst offenders for marketing sweets and chocolates at the checkout and they clearly want to fill your cupboard with junk, said Children’s Food Campaign co-ordinator Malcolm Clark.
“Their latest promotional activity only confirms how far Morrisons still has to go in offering parents a helping hand in encouraging healthy eating for all the family. The supermarket should start by doing more to promote fruit and veg and go junk free at all its checkouts.”
Morrisons, however, accused the group of missing the point of the latest round of pricing activity which was specifically targeted at store cupboard items while not crediting its previous pricing activity on fresh food.
“The report is inaccurate and has missed 80% of our recent price cuts - as we’ve made over 200 cuts across fresh produce including fruit, vegetables, meat and poultry, plus wholemeal bread, milk and eggs,” said a spokeswoman.
“Elsewhere we’ve reduced the price of everyday grocery items, to help cut the cost of the weekly shop.”
Fresh produce was in fact the first category that Morrisons looked at when it began its major reset of pricing early last year.
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