Skip to main content

Tesco, the U.K. supermarket chain, found itself under fire this week after slashing the price of Snickers, Kit Kat Chunky, Twix, Mars and Bounty bars by more than half, to £1 (about $1.50 Canadian) for a package of five.

"To have this kind of promotion at this time when obesity is such as problem is frankly totally irresponsible," National Obesity Forum spokesman Tam Fry reportedly told The Daily Mail.

Tesco is the world's third-largest retailer by revenues, after Wal-Mart and Carrefour.

While the company argued that it had also slashed the price of fruit and vegetables, the savings weren't nearly as steep as on its junk food.

The price of a bag of apples, for instance, dropped just 20p, to £1.30, and most of the salads dropped by just 10 per cent.

Public-health and nutrition researchers have argued for years that junk food costs too little – in many cases it's far cheaper than fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Denmark recently instituted a tax on high-fat food, and some in the United Kingdom – and Canada – have argued other countries should do the same.

Tesco has had previous problems with candy sales. Last November, the company mistakenly lowered the price of Smarties to just 5p, The Daily Mail reported. In a separate blunder, the chain lowered the price of Terry's Chocolate Oranges to 29p instead of the usual £2.75, reportedly prompting one customer to purchase 192 of the treats, for which he paid £57 (his savings were £471, or $735).

Tesco has tried to promote efforts to help its customers lose weight, in part through product labelling, and also through its for-profit weight-loss company, Tesco Diets – which we're sure will in no way benefit when all the cheap-chocolate binge eaters suddenly realize they need to burn off calories.

Is it irresponsible of supermarkets to sell discount junk food?

Editor's note: The new discounted price applies to bulk packages, not individual chocolate bars. This version has been updated with the correct information.

Interact with The Globe