SummaryIntroductionWithin the UK there is growing interest in, and widespread concern about, the nations eating habits. Choosing a better diet, sets out an action plan to improve diet and nutrition. This action plan recognizes that: the food industry has a major impact on what people eat and that nine out of ten consumers do most of their shopping at a supermarket and emphasizes that the food industry has a corporate social responsibility to promote healthy eating This paper provides an exploratory case study of the ways in which the UKs leading food retailers are promoting healthy eating. The case study begins with a discussion of healthy eating and examines the ways in which the UKs top ten food. Retailers are addressing healthy eating both as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas and how these agendas are promoted within their storesPurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a preliminary case study exploration of the ways in which the UKs top ten food retailers are addressing healthy eating agendas as part of their CSR agendas and how these agendas are being promoted within their stores.Design/methodology/approach The paper begins with a short discussion of the healthy eating of CSR and a brief outline of food retailing within the UK. The paper draws its empirical material from the CSR reports and information posted on the World Wide Web by the UKs top ten food retailers and from a simple inspection and information collection survey conducted in the largest store in UK operated by each of these ten retailers.BodyCSR agendas and healthy eatingThere are considerable variations in the extent to which healthy eating is addressed in the CSR information posted on the World Wide Web by the top ten food retailers and imparts this reflects the marked variations in the content and character of the CSR reports. and information Thus while the CSR reports included quite extensive treatments of healthy eating, Marks & Spencer devoted only two pages of its CSR report to healthy eating and ASDAs company web site contains quite an extensive range of healthy eating information but the CWS, Waitrose, ASDA and Somerfield made very limited mention of it in either their CSR reports or on their company web sites while two of the top ten food retailers, namely Iceland and Spar, made no mention at all of healthy eating on their web sites. More specifically food and health is listed at the top of the companys CSR priorities for 2005/2006 and the aim is to be industry leaders in fresh, healthy, tasty products and to set rigorous targets for reducing salt, fat and sugar levels in all own-brand products.The companys CSR health pledge focuses upon limiting the amount of fat, sugar and salt in all own brand products; promoting healthier eating choices throughout the year; and supporting campaigns, products and information that promote healthier foods as part of a healthier lifestyle. The company report progress on its three-year strategy introduced in 2003 and aimed at for reducing salt in five key product categories of own brand viz. chilled and frozen ready meals; soups; chilled and frozen pizzas; and breakfast cereals and it claims substantial reductions in salt levels from the original base. The company first introduced health labeling on its own brand products in 1994 and the 2005 CSR report stresses its commitment to providing clear nutritional information on food labels to enable customers to identify healthier. Sainsbury developed its Wheel of Health which uses the so called traffic light approach to show at a glance how much fat, saturated fat, calories, sugar and salt are in each serving. The colors indicate whether each of the elements listed above makes a low, medium or high contribution to the recommended daily intake for an average adult. The company also reports that it highlights the nutritional benefits of some foods on packaging and the extension of their 5-a-day logo which indicates the number of fruit or vegetable portions a pack or serving contains. More generally the company also report making healthier choices available in all its ranges, including its basics, where it believes price may be a higher priority for customers than nutrition, as well as its support for a number of initiatives designed to encourage children to eat more healthily and to be more active.Healthy eating information within storesWithin stores there was considerable variation in the extent to which the top ten retailers addressed healthy eating though this variation did not always mirror differences in the extent to which healthy eating agendas were addressed in the CSR reports and information. Seven retailers namely J. Sainsbury, Tesco, ASDA,Somerfield, Marks & Spencer, the CWS and Morrisons all offer healthy eating ranges though the extent of these ranges varied significantly between stores. Thus while J. Sainsburys Be Good to Yourself, Tescos Healthy Eating and Marks & Spencers Count On Us ranges covered a wide variety of own brand foods the corresponding Good Intentions and Eat smart ranges in Somerfield and Morrisons respectively were much more restricted. The ASDA store visited carried an extensive range of Good For You products. This range included a variety of frozen and chilled ready meals, salads, pizzas, sauces, soups, tinned vegetables, puddings and desserts, cheeses, biscuits, cakes, snacks and dips and jams. Nutritional information relating to the percentage fat content, the weight of fat per pack and per suggested serving and the calories per pack was prominently displayed on all products within the range.Generally within store there was little promotional information to draw customers attention to healthy eating ranges and products. There was no banner advertising, shelf edge marking was limited and information leaflets were very much the exception rather than the rule. Exceptions included the ASDA store which had a prominent notice informing customers of the recommendation about eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day on each of the cellophane bag dispensers in the fruit and vegetable department; the CWS store which had some shelf edge information about what constituted high and low salt levels in food products; and in the J. Sainsbury store there was some limited shelf edge information concerning the companys Wheel of Health which offered customers the following shorthand advice High-Think! Medium OK! Low Go! on sugar, fat, unsaturated fat, salt and calories. The Tesco store stocked a number of Healthy Living customer information leaflets close to the checkouts. These leaflets focused on salt, sugar and vegetarian eating. Salt: understanding why a little goes along way, for example, includes a simple explanation of the characteristics of salt and the effect that excess salt in the diet can have on peoples health, a guide to the nutritional signpost labels the company are putting on food packs, guidelines on salt intakes and on how to lower salt intakes and advice on what is described as hidden salt found, for example, in salted and dry roasted nuts, crisps, anchovies, baked beans, cheese and hot chocolate. In a similar vein the information leaflet Sugar: simple changes to help keep you sweet includes the Sugar swap shop, which suggests some easy changes customers can make to help cut their sugar intake. Thus honey nut corn flakes could be swapped for Scottish porridge oats, low fat strawberry yoghurt for natural bio yoghurt and chocolate digestive biscuits for bananas. In the J. Sainsburys store a series of recipe leaflets, for example for Mozzarella burgers, Spicy beef pitas and Fruity wine jellies all include nutritional information displayed in the format of the companys Wheel of Health. The Marks & Spencer store stocked a book entitled Count On Us which included a wide range of recipes and which was on sale at 5.ConclusionFindings The findings reveal that there are considerable variations in the extent to which healthy eating is addressed in the CSR information posted on the World Wide Web by the top ten food retailers and how healthy eating is promoted within stores. The paper concludes that the leading food retailers could do more to address healthy eating agendas within stores.Research limitations/implications The current case is a preliminary exploration of the ways in which the leading UK food retailers are addressing healthy eating issues as part of their CSR agendas and while it raises a number of interesting issues, more work will be needed before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.Healthy eating has assumed increasing importance on the political agenda within the UK and the Government sees the food industry as having a corporate social responsibility to promote healthy eating. This paper reveals that there are currently considerable variations in the extent to which the UKs top ten food retailers address healthy eating in the CSR information they post on the World Wide Web. The overwhelming majority of customers are most unlikely to check out food retailers CSR approaches to healthy eating via the retailers web sites. If retailers wish to communicate and publicly demonstrate their commitment to healthy eating to their customers then the store and the point of sale offers the most effective arena for such activities. This paper suggests that there is also variation in the extent to which information about healthy eating is available in stores and that the top ten food retailers could do much more to address these issues and thus to fulfill what Government clearly sees as their corporate social responsibility.