When Henry Dimbleby recommended the introduction of mandatory reporting on health for all food companies of over 250 employees in his 2021 National Food Strategy, the FDF’s first reaction was that the draconian measure would “never see the light of day.”

Amid fears it would give supermarkets a massive stick with which to beat their supply chains, while also forcing suppliers to reveal all manner of precious confidential information to their rivals, it was seen as a red line.

That all changed today when FDF chief executive Karen Betts announced she was standing “shoulder to shoulder” with Tesco boss Ken Murphy in urging the government to bring in mandatory reporting.

Writing exclusively in The Grocer, Betts says it’s time for ministers to take “bold and co-ordinated action” to tackle the obesity crisis, with mandatory reporting across all sectors a key part of that.

But what has provoked this about-turn? And how significant is it, as the food industry waits to find out what the government’s new Food Strategy will bring?

Mandatory reporting: momentum has grown

Despite it being one of the few Dimbleby policy recommendations the Tory government actually acted on, industry opposition to mandatory reporting quickly resulted in the policy being watered down. Plans for supermarkets and manufacturers to report on the healthiness of their sales under the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) were dropped, in favour of a yet-to-see-the-light-of-day ‘voluntary’ version.

“Our ministers were really clear that in the context of the cost of living crisis and continued pressure on businesses and consumers with rising food prices, they didn’t want to do anything that would add to the burden on businesses,” Sean Povey, then deputy director of diet, obesity and healthy behaviours at DHSC, explained at the time.

But with talks on the new strategy underway, momentum has grown again. Last week, almost all of the major supermarkets told The Grocer they were backing Murphy’s call, along with Tesco’s big-hitting charity partners.

Today, Betts says mandatory reporting should be a central plank in the strategy. She also moots other measures including a possible rethink of on-pack nutrition labelling, which, at best, has had mixed results since its high-profile launch more than a decade ago.

As critics point out, supermarket bosses and manufacturers are now calling for mandatory reporting, rather than government-imposed health targets. This policy is well-timed for government ministers looking for ways to shift the dial on health without introducing more hardcore ‘nanny state’ taxes and other measures that increase pressure on inflation.

In the meantime, the backdrop of the obesity crisis gets worse.

Figures exclusively revealed by The Grocer last week show consumption of fruit & veg for households in the UK has fallen sharply thanks to the cost of living crisis, with fewer than one in 10 kids and less than a fifth of adults hitting the target.

Meanwhile, OHID figures show that the amount of calories consumed via the out-of-home sector has ballooned, along with the nation’s waistlines. Betts wants ministers to ensure that any reporting action is extended to this relatively unregulated sector.

The FDF today revealed figures showing its members had slashed salt, sugar and calories consumption in the past decade and questioned whether the same progress has been made at takeaways, sandwich shops and cafés across the UK. The answer, according to those OHID figures, is a pretty resounding no.

Healthy behaviour change

Betts also urges the government to consider whether the time is right for a new national campaign on healthy eating that could shift behaviours at scale. It is apparently being given consideration by the food industry, as well as the panel helping the government to plot its Food Strategy.

However, unlike the growing consensus on mandatory reporting, coming up with a health message that cuts through to today’s consumer and applies to all sectors of the food industry will be far from easy.

The world has changed so dramatically since the 5 a day campaign was officially adopted by the UK government in 2003, and then 10 years later when traffic lights hit the shelves. It will be a challenge to come up with a message that industry and health campaigners can rally around in the same way.

Should it be urging consumers to eat more fibre, or is sugar still the enemy? What about the debate on UPFs, which could so easily confuse any campaign that ignores the conversation?

And, perhaps most controversial of all, what about the role of anti-obesity drugs, which in the US have been busy wiping billions off the value of food companies and whose appeal to the TikTok generation might be impossible to restrain?

Such challenges are extremely daunting for the industry. But as Betts also points out, there are also many examples of companies that are already spending millions making their products healthier.

If the government can tap into the need for a new joined-up approach, its new Food Strategy might stand half a chance. A coalition against obesity could still become a reality.

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