We’ve all done it. Gone to the supermarket, attempted to be healthy, got to the checkout and seen all the sweets and chocolate and piled it onto the till while thinking “Fuck it!”.
But soon we won’t be able to in M&S.
Admittedly M&S isn’t somewhere I often go food shopping, but when you’re on a road trip and you stop at a service station, Percy Pig and Colin The Caterpillar sweets are a solid purchase!
But the high street chain are joining Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Sainsbury’s in pulling confectionery from it’s checkout. The ‘guilt aisles’ will become a thing of the past, with sweets and chocolate being moved to different parts of the store.
It comes following calls from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, who want people to cut their sugar intake by 50%.
A spokesperson from the National Obesity Forum said:
It’s a pity they’re one of the last instead of the first to remove sweets from checkouts.
Removing sugary snacks from a sensitive place like checkouts where parents can succumb to pester power will help reduce the chances of children getting fat.
ASDA is now the only supermarket that still has a ‘guilt aisle’. Morrisons recently removed sweets and treats from a fifth of it’s checkouts, leaving customers the choice of avoiding confectionery at the till… Which I have never ever noticed. I just go to the shortest queue, what is on sale while I’m chucking my stuff onto the till doesn’t enter my head, to be honest.
I will always side with Percy Pig.
I understand that something has to be done, but they’re not banning the foods outright, just not having them right next to the til. It’s probably a drop in the ocean in terms of the big problem, but I guess every little helps.
