Store giant removes temptation at till for shoppers in Shropshire and Powys
Tesco stores across Shropshire and Mid Wales have removed sweets and chocolate from all of its checkouts to reduce pester power from children.
The supermarket removed confectionery from larger stores 20 years ago but the changes that take effect today will apply to all stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
That includes around 2,000 smaller Metro and Express outlets, including more than 30 in our region.
A spokesman said confectionery would also be removed from areas adjacent to the tills – for example, racks of sweets at children's eye level next to checkout queues.
It follows research based on Tesco Club Card data that found families with young children have, on average, the least healthy shopping baskets, while pensioners and older adults are the healthiest shoppers.
An earlier study by the grocer found nearly two-thirds of customers said removing confectionery from checkouts would help them make healthier choices.
Just over two-thirds of parents said confectionery-free checkouts would help them make healthier choices for their children.
Tesco's managing director of health and wellness, David Wood, said: "Our customers told us that removing sweets and chocolates from checkouts would help them make healthier choices, so from today our checkouts will be sweet and chocolate-free zones.
"We hope this will make our customers' lives easier, as taking sweets and chocolates off the checkouts will really help parents with young children.
"As a parent of two young children myself, I know how challenging it can be to navigate the checkouts with children in tow.
"The response we've had from parents has been overwhelmingly positive, so it'll be interesting to see if other supermarkets follow our lead and do the same thing."
The retailer said it had replaced the confectionery with healthier snacks and every food item on the checkout would be one of the "five a day".
