The retailers have come under fire this week from the National Consumer Council for promoting an abundance of sugary and fatty foods, instead of focusing their special offers on fresh fruits and vegetables (p4). Morrisons in particular came under close scrutiny, being ranked as the retailer with the worst track record on that score.

But the report was not only narrow in its scope - focusing on just eight stores in one city in one month - it also failed to acknowledge the plethora of adverts now gracing our screens from many major supermarkets, flagging up special offers on fruit and veg. As Morrisons also made clear, the report did not take into account its Market Street format, which focuses entirely on fresh produce and food freshly prepared in store.

While there is no doubt that the whole of the supply chain should be doing more to encourage fresh produce sales, if somebody wants to buy a bag of crisps rather than an apple they will, regardless of which product is on offer. Educating consumers about healthy eating requires a long-term, industry-wide approach that must do more than rail against special offers on crisps and chocolate at the other side of the supermarket. All this report has served to do is place the blame for unhealthy eating habits at the door of the retailers, who purely supply demand. There are a wealth of other factors to take into account if we really want to change diets across the nation.