‘Health-food police’ to patrol the aisles in Waitrose stores

WAITROSE is to put a group of advisors on patrol in its stores to steer shoppers away from junk food.

Designed to encourage shoppers to load their trolleys with healthy options, the trained assistants – dubbed “healthfood police” – will start to appear at dozens of UK stores later this year.

Trained by qualified nutritionists, the assistants will advise customers who ask about healthier choices and show them how to read food labels and where they can find reliable sources of nutrition information.

The move resulted from a survey that showed half of shoppers admitted that they did not feel on top of their health, with a third complained they had no time to focus on healthy buying.

Research shows shoppers tend to reach for unhealthy options if shopping while hungry. A Waitrose spokesman said: “Many shoppers have the best intentions to be healthier but busy lives get in the way. We know that small steps, top tips and nuggets of good advice can help them get started and, more importantly, stay on track.”