BDA Applauds Supermarket Lidl Commitment to Chuck Junk Off the Checkout

15 Jan 2014 --- The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is standing up and applauding the supermarket chain Lidl, for committing to remove high-calorific ‘junk’ from their checkouts.

The BDA, founded in 1936, is the professional association for dietitians in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the nation’s largest organisation of food and nutrition professionals with over 7,000 members. The BDA is also an active trade union.

The BDA, through its specialist groups Dietitians in Obesity Management (DOM UK) have partnered with the Children’s Food Campaign to urge all supermarkets to Chuck Junk Food off the Checkout (www.junkfreecheckouts.org).

The Junk Free Checkouts campaign aims to give shoppers a number of easy ways, both in store and online, of highlighting what is being sold at checkouts and in queuing aisles, and pressing the case for change at the till. The campaign comes amid conflicting signals from the Department of Health (England) about the scope and strength of a new voluntary code of conduct on the marketing of products high in fat, sugar and salt, which is currently being drawn up by the Government in consultation with the food industry.

Speaking on behalf of the British Dietetic Association, obesity specialist Linda Hindle said:

“A lot of the time, health campaigners like the British Dietetic Association, are in the media calling for this to happen or for this to change.  Well, this time we want to applaud what Lidl have agreed to do and that is to remove all the sweets and junk that seems to engulf many supermarket checkouts.

“Other supermarket chains should look at Lidl because they are ahead of the game and they have now set the standard by which all other supermarkets should be judged, when it comes to the checkout.

“What Lidl has agreed to today could well be the catalyst for real change and if not by themselves then the Governments around the UK should step in and do so.”