Wal-mart Aims For Cheaper, Healthier Food

Wal-Mart on Thursday announced what is expected to further move the grocery industry toward providing consumers more information about food and lowering the “premium” costs of foods considered more healthy.

Joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, Walmart executives held a press conference in Washington D.C. to unveil “a comprehensive effort to provide its customers with healthier and more affordable food choices.”

The world’s largest retailer and the the nation’s largest grocer said it will by 2015 reduce sodium by 25%, added sugars by 10% and removing all “industrially produced trans fats” in thousands of food products. Other parts of the plan include:

• Reducing or eliminating the price premium on key “better-for-you” items, such as reduced sodium, sugar or fat products;

• Developing strong criteria for a simple front-of-package seal that will help consumers instantly identify truly healthier food options such as whole grain cereal, whole wheat pasta or unsweetened canned fruit;

• Providing solutions to address food deserts by building stores in underserved communities that are in need of fresh and affordable groceries; and

• Increasing charitable support for nutrition programs that help educate consumers about healthier food solutions and choices.

The company claims the program may save consumers around $1 billion a year on the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables.

“No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford,” Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “With more than 140 million customer visits each week, Walmart is uniquely positioned to make a difference by making food healthier and more affordable to everyone. We are committed to working with suppliers, government and non-governmental organizations to provide solutions that help Americans eat healthier and live a better life.”

The company also said customers have been asking for some of the changes included in the new effort.

Walmart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said the company gathers customer sentiment as part of a regular, ongoing survey process. When asked about costs of implementing the new strategy, Lopez said the costs are not separate but are part of the normal cost of doing business.

The move by Walmart follows an effort that began in 2002 by the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

“Since 2002 Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) member companies have changed the recipes of more than 20,000 products to reduce calories, fat, sugar and sodium. Through the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, food and beverage companies have agreed to remove 1.5 trillion calories from the food supply by 2015,” the association noted in a statement issued Jan. 20.

The association announced in October it was working with the Food Marketing Institute to develop a “front-of-pack nutrition labeling system” to help consumers know more about food products. The GMA statement issued Thursday also praised Walmart’s plan.

Also pleased with the Walmart plan is Michael Jacobson, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“I applaud Walmart for moving the food industry in a healthier direction,” Jacobson, noted in a statement. “Walmart’s action should virtually eliminate artificial trans fat and significantly reduce salt in packaged foods and, most importantly, prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks and strokes each year.”