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Sainsbury’s has relaunched all its own brand baked beans and pasta meals in a move to address the UK’s salt intake.
The range review of 31 products, which will be completed next month, will have an annual salt reduction of 14.6 tonnes and 59 tonnes of sugar, based on current sales trends.
The range now meets the 2017 Public Health England guidelines on salt reduction, with 100% of the products falling below the maximum levels.
The range has also undergone a packaging update, with additional health claims made more prominent on the packaging.
For example, the new by Sainsbury’s Baked Beans and by Sainsbury’s Reduced Sugar & Salt Baked Beans carry on-pack labelling to highlight that a half-can or 200g serving is not only one of your five-a-day but also gluten-free, low in sugar and fat, a source of both protein and fibre and suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
The supermarket chain’s director of brand Judith Batchelar commented: “There’s no doubt that health is high on the UK agenda. We know customers want to enjoy a healthy balanced diet and that they look to brands they trust – like Sainsbury’s – to offer solutions.
“As one of the first signatories to the Responsibility Deal, we’re committed to delivering healthier baskets to our customers, with strong progress already made in reducing sugar and salt in a number of our own-brand product ranges.
“And will continue to do so, focusing on the products that are going to have the biggest impact in helping our customers live healthier lives.”
The initiative comes after the retailer announced a reformulation project on cereals earlier this year, removing more than 452 tonnes of sugar, 18 tonnes of saturated fat and 11 tonnes of salt from across its own-brand cereal range, while increasing the overall grain content.
Judith said: “The task of adding or removing ingredients, and finding suitable replacements that still deliver the taste and quality that a customer expects from our products, is challenging.
“It’s a significant area of investment and represents a large portion of our product development work.
“Our reformulations are all validated by consumer panel taste tests to ensure they are comparable to either the market equivalent or the previous Sainsbury’s brand product.
“In this case, baked beans are such a staple for so many of our customers that the team has worked doubly hard on the new recipe to deliver a product that is both better for you, as well as better tasting.”
