Almost all specials in Dutch supermarkets unhealthy: report

Almost all products on special offer in Dutch supermarkets are unhealthy for the consumer or fall outside the recommended guideline for healthy eating by the Dutch Nutrition Center, supermarket comparator Stichting Questionmark found in a study, the Volkskrant reports.

The foundation kept an eye on online offers for six months. The researchers concluded that in four out of five cases, supermarkets opt to offer a more unhealthy product over a healthy one. And that while supermarkets promised the government last year that they will help reduce excessive drinking and obesity, according to the newspaper.

In the National Prevention Agreement made late last year, the government and various other parties agreed to reduce the proportion of overweight adults in the Netherlands from the current 50 percent to 38 percent in 2040. The group of obese Dutch must be reduced from 14.5 percent now to 7.1 percent in 2040. Supermarkets signed the agreement, promising to do their bit in their own way in the fight against obesity and unhealthy diets.

Public health institute RIVM concluded that the agreements made in the National Prevention Agreement are not enough to achieve the above mentioned goal, according to the Volkskrant. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, will debate the Agreement next week.