Diets tend to be too high in sugar, salt and energy whilst lacking in fibre and falling short on intakes of fruit & vegetables. We believe that reformulation to improve the nutritional content of products is one mechanism through which we can positively influence the healthy balance of our customers baskets.  Our experience in reformulating products over many years has taught us:

• Reformulation must be done gradually to promote consumer acceptance

• Reformulation must be considerate of the functionality of the ingredient so as not to adversely impact the quality or safety of the product.

• Absolute maximum/ minimum targets for levels of nutrients are more easily implemented than sales weighted targets.

Our ongoing programme of reformulation will therefore ensure we continue to improve the nutrient profile of our products while ensuring we never compromise on quality or taste for our customers.

Sugar

Our commitment: We support Public Health England's (PHE) aim to reduce the sugar in children's diets by 20% and we acknowledge the role we play in this along with the rest of the food industry including other retailers, manufacturers and out of home retailers. Our approach has been to focus our efforts on reducing sugar from the PHE categories that contribute most to the amount of sugar in customers baskets.  When looking at the amount of sugar our own brand products contribute, we identified that nearly 80% of the sugar sits in 5 categories (cakes, biscuits, puddings, sweets & ice cream). Our approach has been to prioritise these 5 categories for reformulation to actively reduce the sugar content. For the remaining PHE sugar reduction categories we have also looked to reduce sugar as and when these products are being touched.

To find out how we are tracking our performance in sugar reformation click here.

Salt

Our commitment: Sainsbury’s supports the Governments ambition to reduce national intakes to 6g per day and the associated Public Health England ‘Salt Reformulation Programme’. We have a proven history of reformulating to improve the salt content of our products - and 97% of our Own Brand products met the 2017 maximum targets for salt. We will continue to work on products to bring them in line with the 2024 maximum salt targets, prioritising those lines that contribute the most to salt volumes.

To find out how we are tracking our performance in salt reformation click here.

Fruit and vegetables

For the average Sainsburys shopper fruits and vegetables make up just 27% of the basket compared to the 39% dietary contribution recommended by the Eatwell Guide. This is in keeping with national data that shows the majority of adults and children in the UK do not consume enough fruit and vegetables.

Our commitment: We are committed to helping all customers have a healthy and sustainable diet that is rich in a variety of fruits & vegetables. As such we will look for opportunities to increase the fruit & vegetable content of our customers baskets, and share our progress

As a pledger to the Food Foundations Peas Please initiative we commit to reporting annually on:

• We aim to increase the proportion of our total sales tonnage that comes from vegetables by at least 1% by 2025/26 and to report annually on our progress
• We will also report annually on the portions of vegetables sold from all own brand products including composite dishes.
• We will continue to support customers to increase their vegetable consumption through initiatives that improve awareness, value and incentives. We commit to share learnings in order to build the evidence base for how to effectively increase vegetable intakes.

To help build the evidence base for what strategies are effective at increasing fruit & vegetable purchase we will also share case studies for specific initiatives trialled within the business.

To find out how we are tracking our performance in vegetable sales click here.

Starchy carbohydrates

Our commitment: As part of our commitment to ensuring our customers can trust that they can always choose nutritious and healthy foods when they shop with us, we aim to provide customers with healthier choices across the store. We know that currently on average 19% of customers’ baskets are made up of starchy carbohydrate, the ‘eatwell guide’ guidelines are that this should be closer to 37%. Therefore as part of our work in meeting our target on healthy sales we will encourage customers to include more starchy carbohydrates in their diet. We know that the quality of these foods is important and therefore will be looking to promote those that provide a ‘source of fibre’.

Trans fats

Our commitment: The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that total Trans Fatty Acid (TFA) intake be limited to less than 1% of total energy intake, which translates to less than 2.2 g/day in a 2,000-calorie diet (WHO, 2018). The reason for this is because there is strong evidence associated with TFA an increased risk of heart disease, the number one cause of death in the UK. 
References
WHO. Draft Guidelines: Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children. 2018. Geneva: WHO.

Portion size

Our commitment: Nutritional labelling can quickly become overly complex for customers, which is why consistent labelling on portion sizes across the board are so important. We ensure when setting portion sizes they are meaningful to the customer (i.e. giving household measures such as 'per tablespoon'), we also require the nutrition declaration of the portion to be on the product as consumed.

For more information click here.

Energy (Calories)

Our commitment: We recognise the size of the public health challenges posed by excess weight and obesity in the UK, and therefore welcome the publication of Public Health England's calorie reduction targets. We will identify opportunities to reformulate out own brand products to be compliant to the maximum kcal/portion targets, prioritising those lines that contribute most to calories sold.

Product reformulation case studies

To read more on reformulation, click on the case studies below:

Salt reduction timeline

Sugar reduction progress

Reformulating our products