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Safeway results - Health
- Indicator 7.1
- Indicator 7.2
- Indicator 7.3
- Overall commentary and examples of good practice
- Supermarket comments
Indicator 7.1
Issue: Corporate commitment to public health
Indicator: Responsibility for and action on food and public health
Safeway scored marks for confirming its commitment to supporting public health policy in all three areas (action on food poverty and health inequalities; commitment to widening access; and nutrition and healthy eating), and for its extensive published policies relating to nutrition and healthy eating, but it does not have policies on food poverty and health inequalities, or access.
Indicator 7.2
Issue: Action on food poverty and health inequalities
Indicator: Store location and pricing policy
Safeway scored highly on the question relating to food pricing, indicating that it subsidises the costs of foods categorised as healthy (or as healthier alternatives to standard products, such as low-fat) to encourage healthy eating and bring it within customers’ reach. Only a small proportion of the stores it opened in the year reported, and fewer than half the stores it refurbished, were in areas that matched the overall company demographics in terms of provision for lower income shoppers, suggesting that these areas were not a focus of activity.
Indicator 7.3
Issue: Commitment to widening access
Indicator: Access to and within stores
Unfortunately, Safeway lost marks on this question because it was unable to provide data on the means of transport used by its customers when shopping. It does not offer a delivery service. Although it does not at present have a written policy relating to customers with special needs, this is currently under review, and measures intended to ease access for these groups are being trialed in some stores.
Indicator 7.4
Issue: Nutrition and healthy eating
Indicator: Extent to which sales support dietary guidelines
Safeway scored highly on all the questions relating to the extent to which sales support dietary guidelines (but see note in the Overall review of this module). It has reduced salt, sugar and fat content in the product lines specified, and provides full nutritional labelling. Although its IT systems do not at present allow it to provide data to customers that would help them to analyse their shopping nutritionally on the basis of their till receipts, for example by indicating the total fat or salt purchased, it indicated that it does have a dietary analysis tool that can be used when requested by customers. Safeway does not use the Department of Health Five a day logo, though it does run its own scheme to promote fruit and vegetable consumption.
Overall commentary and examples of good practice
Safeway’s showing in this module is probably an unfair reflection of its performance relative to other supermarkets. It lost marks by being unable to supply data for some questions. The supplementary materials supplied showed that the company had a good level of awareness of the impact its policies and actions can have on public health, and that it has policies which support efforts to address the problem of diet-related illness. In general, the company scored well on questions relating to the range of healthy or “healthier” foods it supplies, and its pricing policies, which help to keep healthy options within customers’ reach. Surprisingly, given that around half its customers come from the poorer sections of society (C2DEs), Safeway scored less well on questions relating to access, an area in which the company has no published policies. Safeway has had an active nutrition department, which has been proactive in devising ways to provide dietary advice to customers on an individual basis, helping to bridge the gap between the theory of good nutrition and the practice of food shopping and menu planning.
Examples of good practice
- Safeway ran a campaign in which a team of 37 locally recruited dieticians visited a total of 87 stores on various occasions to dispense independent dietary advice to customers, and cast an appraising eye over the contents of their trolleys. This is an imaginative and practical way for supermarkets to help shoppers bridge the gap between the theory of healthy eating and the practice of food shopping.
- Safeway offers a Nutrition Advice service, staffed by a team of three nutritionists who provide personal responses to customers’ queries via a helpline or email.
- Provides detailed advice to customers pursuing specific diets for health reasons, such as gluten-free, egg-free, cow’s milk free or soya free.
Areas for improvement
- Safeway could match its impressive policies in support of healthy eating with policies related to widening access, in terms of store location and refurbishment, and customers with special needs. It could also analyse the method of transport used by its shoppers, with a view to making shopping easier for those who do not have access to a car, or prefer not to use one – these measures could include subsidised buses, or a subsidised delivery service.
- Safeway’s policies include clear analyses of the diet-related problems faced by children in the UK, including high consumption of fat and sugar, and excessive snacking. In view of this, the company could review its criteria for Children’s Brand Values (relating to products targeted at 3-8 year-olds), which currently designate apples, pears, crisps, cakes, biscuits and some confectionery lines within the range as “everyday snacks” that will make up a “significant part” of a child’s diet, albeit with a specification that is “healthier” than the equivalent standard products.
- Safeway could make greater use of its IT systems to analyse sales in relation to dietary goals, track progress, and help customers analyse the nutritional content of their purchases.
Supermarket comments
“We continue to innovate in communicating key health messages to both our employees and our customers. We are implementing a new communication plan in January 2004 despite the proposed merger and we continue to invest in the development of new products, not only in our ‘healthier’ ranges but also in core areas where we can achieve ‘better than existing’ nutritional values’.”
