Shop’s sweet retreat

WOOLWORTHS is to remove all sweets and chocolates from its checkout queues in a bid to show parents and children its “commitment to providing alternatives”.

The retailer said over the past 10 years it had reduced sugar and salt in many of its products as part of its “Good Food Journey” campaign to find healthier options.

In 1999, the group decided it would no longer include food additives tartrazine and monosodium glutamate often found in canned soups, salad dressings and frozen dinners.

“Customers can trust that Woolworths has their best interests at heart, and as a father myself, I am very proud that we are leading the way on providing healthier kids’ options,” said Spencer Sonn of the retailer’s foods leadership team.

“We want to thank our customers for their continuing support and for their feedback on the kind of snacks they would like to see on the stands at pay points.”

Woolworths will host panel discussions with customers and focus groups for ideas of alternative products for the checkout aisles.

“The rollout will start with all new Woolworths stores, as well as large format stores,” the retaialer said. But the step has not inspired at least one of Woolworths’ competitors.

A spokesperson for Shoprite Holdings, said the retail group did not experience resistance to the merchandise displayed at its tills.

“The majority of our till points in supermarkets have individual queues and customers are not exposed over a lengthy period to items they would otherwise not have been interested in, in so-called ‘snake queues’.”

The spokesperson said its merchandising decisions were made with the customer’s needs in mind.

Woolworths, meanwhile, said it had reduced the sugar content across its yoghurt range by 15 percent and gradually reduced the salt content of over 100 of its own-brand products.

Last year, the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, banned sweets and chocolates from its checkouts.

UK campaigners are pushing the government to pass a law making the practice illegal.