Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King has criticised celebrity chef Jamie Oliver for his expletive-ridden attack on parents who feed their children junk food.
Oliver last week branded parents who give their children crisps or fizzy drinks as “lazy”, calling them “idiots”, “tossers” and “arseholes”.
But King criticised Oliver’s approach in a column he wrote for the Guardian this week.
He wrote: “While I agree with Jamie’s drive to get children eating healthily, his attack is neither correct nor the best way to achieve change. I ate crisp when I was young and drank fizzy drinks. My children do the same, and they should be allowed to enjoy them. There is no such thing as bad food - just bad diets.
“Dictating to people - or unleashing an expletive-filled tirade - is not the way to get engagement.”
The article was intended as part of a high profile campaign to persuade food manufacturers and retailers to adopt the multiple traffic light food labelling system approved by the Food Standards Agency.
A spokesman for Oliver said the TV chef has a strong relationship with Sainsbury’s. He said: “On almost all of what Justin has written, Jamie is in agreement.”
The supermarket renewed its deal with Oliver earlier this year at a cost of £1 million following the success of the Channel 4 series Jamie’s School Dinners.
