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Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income PeoplesA major area for the food industry to improve the food supply is in reformulation ofexisting products. Reformulation refers to modifying the composition of foods. 30 Thepotential for reformulation is demonstrated by the impact of the National HeartFoundation’s Pick the Tick programme in New Zealand. In 1999, Pick the Tick led to theremoval of ~33 tonnes of salt from 390 products over one year. 31 More recently, theHeart Foundation has worked with the food industry to reduce the salt content of bread,leading to removal of 100-150 tonnes of salt from the food supply per year. 32 Thecurrent Food Industry Group website (www.fig.org.nz) provides examples ofreformulation undertaken by food manufacturers in New Zealand and demonstratessome of the changes that can be made. Van Raaij 30 has highlighted that foodreformulation should focus on basic foods that are commonly eaten by all socioeconomicgroups in order to gain the greatest impact on population health. Again, it isimportant that reformulation to create healthier products does not create a pricepremium.The effect government nutrition policy can have on reformulation has beendemonstrated in the US. The introduction of trans fat labelling regulations in the USresulted in major product reformulation to remove trans fat from the food supply. 21 Thisoccurred without any adverse impact on cost for consumers. 33 Similarly, the 2005Dietary Guidelines for Americans included a new recommendation that at least half of allgrain foods consumed should be wholegrain. These Guidelines led to marketcompetition between food manufacturers, and many manufacturers reformulated21 34products to include wholegrains or introduced new wholegrain products. Importantly,wholegrain products were not more expensive than comparable refined products. Salesof wholegrain products increased at a significantly faster rate after release of the DietaryGuidelines, showing that consumers probably increased purchases in response to theGuidelines and/or increased availability.There is a danger, however, that product reformulation based on one aspect of a foodmay not lead to a healthier food overall, as experience in the US has shown. Forexample, reformulation of packaged potato chips to remove trans fat was achieved by achange to healthier oils, whereas reformulation of cookies resulted largely in a return tothe use of saturated fats.21 35Reformulation can only achieve so much, however, and takes time. For example,replacement of trans fat necessitates development of a suitable alternative, which canbe technically difficult, and may require designing and investing in new processingequipment due to changes in oil texture and stability.Other than encouraging reformulation, consideration should be given to the frequentlydisproportionate price of the same product by package size. Consumers who buy largerquantities (buy in bulk) tend to pay lower prices. 36 However, food insecure householdsmay not have the money to buy in bulk or the necessary storage facilities at home. 37Buying in bulk could also lead to overconsumption. 38 Proportional pricing of packaging,where different package sizes are priced proportionally according to their size, wouldallow food insecure consumers to buy smaller packages of food without incurring a pricepenalty.The World Health Organization suggests that governments use incentives to encouragethe food industry to develop and market healthier foods, reduce the salt content of109
Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income Peoplesprocessed foods, restrict hydrogenation of oils, and reduce the sugar content of23 28beverages. Elsewhere, it has been suggested that incentives for positive outcomesare likely to be more palatable to the food industry than restrictions or regulation, andmay be more effective than undertaking actions that the food industry will resist. 23In contrast, Sugarman 39 has argued that there are limits to the degree and speed ofchange that can be expected from the food industry under a voluntary cooperativeapproach. He suggested that while industry is needed as an ally, voluntary agreementswould not work due to the conflict of interest between sacrificing profits and changing thefood supply. Instead, he proposed a performance-based regulatory approach, whichwould be outcome focused. As an example of this approach, the food industry would berequired to ensure that fewer schoolchildren become obese. Industry would therefore begiven the task to find ways to meet this legally enforceable goal.Midstream: DistributionThere is a growing interest in ‘food miles’ or the ‘carbon footprint’ caused by longdistance food distribution, driven by concerns about climate change. It is generating aresurgence of interest in locally grown foods, and calls for country of origin labelling onfood. Some New Zealand retailers have responded by labelling country of origin onfresh produce, which gives consumers the choice to purchase locally grown or not. 40There has been discussion, however, around the need to differentiate between ‘foodmiles’ and the ‘carbon footprint’. Food miles are considered a poor indicator of41 42environmental impact. Food that has travelled a long distance, for example fromNew Zealand to the United Kingdom, may have a lot of food miles, but a much smallercarbon footprint due to production methods. 43The impact of a local distribution system on food security is uncertain. While it wouldseem intuitive that food grown locally would be more affordable, this is often not thecase. Further analysis needs to be conducted on the benefits of a local food supplychain, 42 including consideration of food security and cost implications alongsidesustainability and environmental issues.Downstream: RetailSupermarkets in New Zealand are dominated by two food companies: Foodstuffs andProgressive Enterprises Limited. Progressive is a subsidiary of the Australian companyWoolworths Limited. It operates the Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdownsupermarket brands and is the franchise co-ordinator for FreshChoice and SuperValue. 44Progressive Enterprises controls approximately 42 percent of the New Zealand grocerymarket. 44 Based on data from the Retail Trade Survey, 45 this is likely to representannual sales of approximately $6.3 billion. Foodstuffs (New Zealand) Limited consists ofthree regionally based companies (Auckland, Wellington and South Island). Foodstuffsoperates the New World, Pak’nSave, Four Square, On the Spot, Shoprite and WritePrice brands. 46 Foodstuffs total wholesale turnover for the year ending 2008 was$7.6 billion.There are five core areas where supermarkets can influence the diet of consumers,according to Hawkes 47 , and we will address these in turn:• location and format of stores,• foods sold in stores,• prices charged,110
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