Supermarkets of several large French brands have started selling sweets at the checkout again, despite the commitment made in 2008 to stop doing so. The complaint was made by UFC-Que Choisir, the French consumer association that conducted an investigation in the area. (1)
Chat and Profit
An abuse of sweets in the diet is related to a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. (2)
In 2008, at the request of the Ministry of Health, most of the large-scale retail chains had committed to eliminating the various marketing techniques designed to encourage sales, such as the positioning of sweets at the checkout counters.
The agreement had served to avoid the introduction of regulatory constraints. But it proved ineffective, as often happens.
The UFC-Que Choisir investigation
UFC-Que Choisir, through volunteers from 76 territorial offices, visited 600 large retail stores, in 61 departments, to verify
– the presence and type of sweets presented at the checkout (sugary sweets 'for all audiences', sweets specifically intended for children),
– other forms of in-store food marketing relating to foods intended for children.
86% of stores are in breach
The inspections reveal that in 86% of the stores visited, sweets have returned to the checkout.
No difference significant emerges in the politics of retailers French. The violation of voluntary agreements was in fact recorded in the points of sale of
– Leclerc and Système U (84% of stores)
– Carrefour (87%)
– Intermarché (89%)
– Lidl (93%).
The most popular sweets
Among the sweets designed for every age group, the most popular are
– Tic-Tac sweets (present in 70% of stores),
– Mentos (63%)
– M&M's chocolates (44%)
– Twix chocolate bars (18%) and
– Snickers (17%).
In more than one out of two shops (51%), the volunteers of UFC-Que Choisir found sweets specifically designed to attract children, well placed in the displays at the cash registers – where people spend the longest time. The most popular are
– various Ferrero products (in 40% of stores) such as Kinder Surprise or Kinderini
– Haribo sweets (15%)
– Houbba-Bouba chewing gum (12%)
– Carambars and Malabars (5%) e
– Lutti sweets (5%).
Child traps between the aisles
Between the lanes other traps are designed to attract children's attention:
– extensive use of large-scale mascots
– positioning of shelves at child height
– teddy bear-shaped displays or with the use of cascade dispensers
– promotional offers with gadgets.
UFC-Que Choisir requests
At almost 20 years since the signing of voluntary commitments, their failure to comply by French retail demonstrates the need for binding rules and effective sanctions to limit the intake of junk food in the diet of adults and children.
UFC-Que Choisir, based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (3)
– urges public authorities to ban marketing actions at points of sale for Nutri-Score D and E food products aimed at children. A measure already passed in the UK (4)
– calls on large-scale retail brands to immediately remove sweets, of all brands, from the tills and to redirect their marketing actions towards foods of good nutritional quality.
Marta Strinati
Footnotes
(1) Halte aux incitations à la malbouffe! UFC-Que Choisir. 3.9.24 https://www.quechoisir.org/action-ufc-que-choisir-marketing-alimentaire-dans-la-grande-distribution-halte-aux-incitations-a-la-malbouffe-n130842/
(2) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Ultraprocessed foods, the worst evil. Appeal of scientists in the British Medical Journal. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(3) WHO. Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing WHO guideline. 2023 https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/370113/9789240075412-eng.pdf?sequence=1
(4) Dario Dongo. England, stop advertising junk food thanks to the Health and Care Bill. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
A professional journalist since January 1995, she has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic studies on food and has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
