Packaged food sold in British supermarkets healthiest in the world, study suggests

US found to have second healthiest offerings

Shot of a young woman using a mobile phone in a grocery store (iStock)

A global survey has found that when it comes to having the healthiest packaged foods and drinks, the UK tops the charts.

The study, conducted by the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford, analysed more than 400,000 food and drink products from 12 countries using Australia’s Health Star Rating system.

The system measures the levels of nutrients such as energy, salt, sugar, saturated fat as well as protein, calcium and fibre.

Researchers ranked Britain the best for levels of sugar, fat, salt and calories found in common foods, while the US was found to have the second healthiest offerings on sale, followed by Australia.

The results, which were published in the journal Obesity Reviews, found that the UK had the highest average Health Star Rating of 2.83, followed by the US at 2.82 and Australia at 2.81.

India scored the lowest rating of just 2.27 followed by China at 2.43 with Chile coming third from bottom at 2.44.

The UK also had the lowest level of sugar in packaged food (3.5g per 100g), beverages (7.2g per 100g) and both combined (3.8g per 100g).

The overall amount of sugar found in packaged items of British food was less than half the 8.3g per 100g in China.

Lead author Dr Elizabeth Dunford said the findings show that some countries are “doing a much better job” at reducing levels of sugar and fat in packaged foods than others.

“Globally we’re all eating more and more processed foods and that’s a concern because our supermarkets’ shelves are full of products that are high in bad fats, sugar and salt and are potentially making us sick,” Dunford said.

“Unfortunately, it's the poorer nations that are least able to address the adverse health consequences that have the unhealthiest foods."

Co-author professor Bruce Neal, acting executive director of The George Institute, agreed, adding that the rise in packaged foods is a real cause for concern.

“Billions of people are now exposed to very unhealthy foods on a daily basis,” Neal said.

“We have to find a way that the food industry can profit from selling rational quantities of quality food, rather than deluging us with unhealthy junk. There are few greater priorities for human health.''

The ranking of Britain as the healthiest country in terms of packaged food comes despite the fact the UK has the highest obesity levels in western Europe.

In 2018, research on 53 countries by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that only Malta and Turkey had higher levels of obesity than Britain.

Researchers warned that the UK’s alcohol consumption levels were likely to be a “huge contributor” to the country’s obesity rates with Britons drinking 10.7 litres of pure alcohol a year, compared with a European average of 8.6.