Ferrero, Haribo, M&M’s, Twix, Snickers… UFC-Que Choisir warns of the return of sweets and junk food to supermarket checkouts

Malbouffe : les confiseries repassent à la caisse

UFC-Que Choisir has just published a survey revealing an alarming trend in French supermarkets: the massive return of sweets at the checkouts. This practice, which was thought to be a thing of the past since the commitment made by the brands in 2008 following a request from the Ministry of Health, is now present in nearly 9 out of 10 stores.

Sweets are back at the checkouts. However, in 2008, the then Minister of Health, Roselyne Bachelot, had asked distributors to develop courses of action to combat childhood overweight and obesity. The removal of candy from the end of the gondola was one of these leads.

But a survey, conducted by 76 local associations of UFC-Que Choisir in more than 600 storesspread across 61 departments, reveals that this time is over. In 86% of stores, confectionery has returned to the checkouts.

Attracting children

Ferrero, Haribo, M&M’s, Twix, Snickers… More than half of stores offer confectionery specifically aimed at children. But even more worrying, this resurgence of food marketing targeting children is not limited to checkouts. The survey highlights a multitude of promotional techniques present on the shelves: attractive displays, use of mascots, strategic placement of products at children's height…

A situation that raises crucial questions about the responsibility of distributors regarding the risks of childhood obesity. Faced with this observation, UFC-Que Choisir denounces the failure of self-regulation in the sector and calls for binding measures. The association also calls on the public authorities to ban marketing actions targeting children for food products classified as D and E according to the Nutri-Score.

Pending such measures, it urges retailers to immediately remove confectionery from checkouts and to refocus their marketing efforts on foods of better nutritional quality.