Plating Up Progress 2021
Recommendations for policy makers, food businesses and investors
This year’s analysis shows a more widespread move by supermarkets to setting targets for, and disclosing, sales-based data for healthy vs. unhealthy food, fruit and vegetables, and different protein sources (animal and plant-based). This trend is not yet mainstream across the sector, however, and the reporting methodologies used are inconsistent.
Restaurants, caterers and wholesalers remain slower to begin reporting on these and several other issues, although we have seen progress on climate change commitments and some more isolated cases where sales-based and product-based targets are being set. It is likely, as has been anecdotally reported, that Covid-19 has led to a slowing down of progress within the restaurant and catering sectors compared to the supermarkets.
While all sectors appear to recognise the impacts the food industry has on people and health, their work on issues relating to nature and the environment is more mature than that relating to health, nutrition and social justice issues.
Plating Up Progress 2021
Section 1. Analysis
Section 2. Recommendations
Key recommendations
Mandatory reporting by large food businesses, as specified in this report, should implemented as primary legislation in the form of a Food Bill.
Engage with the government in support of the National Food Strategy recommendations on business reporting.
Engage collectively with the government, as well as with food businesses, in support of recommendation for mandatory food industry reporting of healthy and sustainable food sales.
