Iceland set to become ‘first retailer’ to show Government ‘five-a-day’ logo on packaging

Iceland is to begin featuring the Government’s controversial “five-a-day” logo on all fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables in a move which could see it become the first national food retailer to support the healthy eating initiative.

Major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have refused to use the logo and instead prefer to use their own logos or healthy eating messages to encourage consumers to eat more healthily.

Iceland will support the initiative by cutting prices by up to 20 per cent on all its frozen and fresh vegetables.

The Department of Health introduced the “5-a-day” logo in April last year in response to research that showed on average that adults eat only three portions of fruit and vegetables a day and children just two, rather than the recommended five.

Food companies can apply to use the logo on canned, dried and frozen fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh and chilled as long as they do not have any added salt, sugar or fat.

Sainsbury’s uses its own five-a day logo and has launched a food range called Way to Five. It says it decided not to support the Government initiative because it was only being trialled in England and it wanted to use a scheme that operated across the UK. Tesco relies on simple messages encouraging consumers to eat five portions of fruit and vegetable a day after withdrawing a Cancer Research logo that claimed to do so would reduce the risk of cancer.

It is not clear whether retailers such as the Co-op use the Government logo on products. The Co-op was unavailable for comment as Marketing Week went to press.