Shopper posts surprising video revealing problem with Coles specials
A concerned shopper has called out Coles over the high amounts of discounted junk food displayed at the end of each aisle.
Jessica Lowe, a nutritionist, who runs Happy Healthy Nutrition, slammed the supermarket saying it’s “no wonder we have an obesity epidemic”.
“I can’t believe the crap that is put on all of the promotional ends!” Ms Lowe wrote.
The 15 seconds of footage captured in the supermarket shows bottles of Coca-Cola at the end of one aisle, cans of Coke at the next, Snickers, Tim Tams, blocks of Cadbury chocolate and high-salt instant soup packets.
“I used to work in retail sales so I know all about promo ends being where consumers shop from and so do the supermarkets, which is exactly why they put high profit items on ends without considering what they are promoting.”
“Before I filmed this video I walked around first to see if there was any healthy foods on the promotional ends and I couldn’t find anything…. not even nuts,” she wrote.
She said she and her husband spend only roughly $500 a month on food by cooking their own food and shopping at local fruit and veg markets.
“The reason these processed foods are on sale with 20% off, 25% or even 50% off is because the food is crap so even when the supermarkets knock the price down by 50% they still make huge profits! It’s not expensive to put processed crap in a box!
“This type of ‘sale’ promotion is also what feeds the excuse of, ‘I can’t afford to eat healthy’. This thought process is mislead(ing) and a misinformed excuse.
“It costs a lot more to drink soda than it does to drink water and eating poor quality food leaves you feeling dissatisfied which results in eating more because your body craves real nutrients….. real food!”
A Coles spokesperson told Yahoo7 News that the video was not representative of their stores, detailing the large range of health initiatives they had introduced in recent years.
“Coles donated two million bananas to local clubs during the Little Athletics 2017-2018 season to provide kids with a nutritious snack during competitions,” the spokesperson said.
“We have developed targets to reduce salt, sugar and saturated fat across the Coles Brand product range, beginning with a program focused on Coles Brand nutritional snacks and cereals.
“Responding to customer feedback on the use of colours, Coles Brand has removed 28 artificial colours from products and continues to remove other additives across a range of products
“Coles has also introduced Health star ratings on our products, which are currently displayed on over 1,550 Coles Brand products.”
