Characteristics of food retail environments are influential in determining food purchases, dietary behaviours, and associated health outcomes. It is important to measure the food retail environment in communities and within outlets/stores to understand whether retail environments are promoting a healthy diet.
| Indicator | Result | Previous | Assessment* | What was measured? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Supermarkets |
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Ratio of junk food^ price promotions to fresh fruit and vegetable promotions in supermarket flyers |
4:1 |
Food and beverage price promotions in supermarket flyers available online during 2020 |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
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Average proportion of aisle end-caps within each supermarket that are junk food free |
43.7% |
47% |
In-store promotions in 98 supermarkets in the wider Auckland area during 2020, compared with previous data from 2016 collected from 205 supermarkets across NZ. |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
|
Average proportion of island bins within each supermarket that are junk food free |
42.6% |
In-store promotions in 98 supermarkets in the wider Auckland area during 2020. |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
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Proportion of supermarkets with at least one checkout free of junk food |
68% |
In-store promotions in 98 supermarkets in the wider Auckland area during 2020. |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
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Proportion of breakfast products promoted (on-shelf tickets, displays, mailers) weekly |
50% |
Weekly data on promotions in 6 Auckland supermarkets for 12 weeks (2019) |
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Mean HSR of breakfast products promoted weekly vs not promoted weekly |
4.0 vs 3.9 |
Weekly data on promotions in 6 Auckland supermarkets for 12 weeks (2019) |
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Median overall score of the commitments related to nutrition and obesity prevention of the major supermarkets.
Median scores for: |
44/100 |
Assessment of the comprehensiveness, specificity, and transparency of the nutrition and obesity related commitments of the 2 largest supermarkets operating in New Zealand, using BIA-Obesity tools developed by INFORMAS (2017). |
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70/100 |
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61/100 |
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59/100 |
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36/100 |
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59/100 |
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Major fast-food outlets |
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Median overall score of the commitments related to nutrition and obesity prevention of the major fast-food outlets.
Median scores for: |
9/100 |
Assessment of the comprehensiveness, specificity, and transparency of the nutrition and obesity-related commitments of the 6 largest fast-food retailers operating in NZ, using BIA-Obesity tools developed by INFORMAS (2017) |
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|
25/100 |
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8/100 |
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36/100 |
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1/100 |
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|
19/100 |
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Recreation centres |
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Proportion (number) of centres where water fountains are the only source of drinks |
29% (n=10) |
The beverage environment in all (34) open leisure centres owned by Auckland Council in 2020. |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
||
Proportion (number) of centres that do not sell sugary beverages |
35% (n=12) |
The beverage environment in all (34) open leisure centres owned by Auckland Council in 2020. |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
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Level of policy** met for drinks section of the Food and Drinks Guidelines for Cafeterias:
|
Proportion (number)
|
The beverage environment in all (34) open leisure centres owned by Auckland Council in 2020. |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
*Green = ‘promotes health’; Orange = ‘needs improvement to promote health’; Red = ‘unhealthy’. For criteria, refer to the Indicator Assessment Criteria at the bottom of the page.
** The Food and Drinks Guidelines for Cafeterias were introduced to Auckland Council-owned centres in 2016. These guidelines have 3 standards: gold, silver and bronze, with each becoming more restrictive about the availability of sugary drinks.
^ The definition of ‘Junk food’ was developed for INFORMAS modules based on the definition of ‘occasional’ food from the Food and Beverage Classification system. This includes sugar-sweetened beverages.
Key Recommendations
Supermarkets
Supermarkets have potential to make the in-store environment healthier by reducing unhealthy promotions at checkouts and by changing the type of foods promoted at end-caps and island bins. Junk-food could be removed from more checkouts to make it easier for consumers to find a checkout free of junk food.
Fast-food outlets
Fast-food restaurants generally do not perform well on nutrition- and obesity prevention-related commitments, nor on the healthiness of their offerings (see food composition page) or labelling of their menus (see labelling page). Companies should be made accountable for improving the healthiness of their retail environments.
Recreation centres
Recreation centres are meant to be health-promoting environments, and food and beverages sold should support healthy physical activity. Centres should continue to provide free drinking water, and stop selling sugary beverages.
For more information
Reports
How healthy are New Zealand food environments? 2018 full report
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? 2021 Full Report
Articles
Kasture A, Vandevijvere S, Robinson E, Sacks G, Swinburn B. Benchmarking the commitments related to population nutrition and obesity prevention of major food companies in New Zealand. Int J Public Heal. 2019 Nov 22;64(8):1147-1157. doi: 10.1007/s00038-019-01272-7.
| Indicator Assessment Criteria | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | |||
Ratio of unhealthy food promotions to healthy food promotions on supermarket flyers |
No unhealthy food or drink promotions |
Healthy food promotions > unhealthy food promotions |
Unhealthy food promotions > healthy food promotions |
Proportion of aisle end-caps within each supermarket that are junk food free |
> 80% |
60 – 80% |
< 60% |
Proportion of island bins within each supermarket that are junk food free |
> 80% |
60 – 80% |
< 60% |
Proportion of supermarkets with at least one checkout free of junk food |
> 80% |
60 – 80% |
< 60% |
Median score for commitments related to nutrition and obesity prevention |
≥80 |
40 – 79 |
< 40 |
Proportion of recreation centres where water fountains are the only source of drinks |
100% |
75 – 99% |
< 75% |
Proportion of recreation centres that do not sell sugary beverages |
100% |
75 – 99% |
< 75% |
Percentage of recreation centres meeting Gold standard for drinks section of the Food and Drinks Guidelines for Cafeterias |
100% |
50 – 99% |
< 50% |