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About Us
Our Businesses
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Responsibility
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A colleague checks Westmill noodles for quality at our factory in Trafford, UK
In line with the Group approach to food safety, all Grocery businesses ensure the safety, quality, legality, integrity and authenticity of their raw materials and products. This is achieved by operating Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), Threat Assessment and Critical Control Points (TACCP) and Vulnerability Assessment and Critical Control Points (VACCP) protocols alongside Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and product assessment. All critical processes are subject to ongoing verification and at least annual validation.
Grocery Group businesses are typically subject to unannounced audits of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards and employ food safety specialists who are responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance to the required certification, in-house and customer standards.
Twinings Poland is certified against the FSSC 22000, a GFSI standard, and is regularly audited. It employs food safety specialists responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance with the required certification, in-house and customer standards.
At George Weston Foods, food safety and quality are the most important topics for the business and its stakeholders. As one of the largest food manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand, it has a fundamental responsibility to provide safe, nourishing food for the communities it serves. George Weston Foods is constantly seeking to improve and enhance its food safety and quality programmes.
Grocery businesses have always taken nutritional factors into account when developing a product portfolio which includes store cupboard staples such as bread, flour, rice, noodles, bagged sugars, tea, cooking sauces and breakfast cereals. To support this position, and wherever relevant to the category, our businesses have in place a bespoke Nutrition Policy as well as a framework for how they will responsibly communicate any health and environmental claims across their brands.
Our Grocery Group businesses in the UK have developed internal policies to ensure compliance with relevant regulation and industry codes of practice related to responsible marketing. In addition, they carefully consider the placement, content and execution of advertising for products considered high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), ensuring children under the age of 16 are not targeted.
Many of Grocery Group’s products support healthier choices, from high-fibre breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread and crispbreads to specialist sports nutrition products. Meanwhile, examples of new non-HFSS products include Jordans Popped Oat Crunch cereal which is high in fibre; Ryvita Snack It Thins which come in three flavours and are high in fibre; Kingsmill’s Fruit Fingers and reformulated pancakes; Patak’s Curry Creations sauce kits; and Westmill Foods' Elephant Basmati Boost, a new fortified rice variant.
In recent years Grocery Group division has worked closely with the UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF), participating in industry-wide programmes designed to deliver meaningful health benefits to consumers. Ryvita, Jordans Cereals and Kingsmill remain signatories to one such programme, FDF’s Action on Fibre, an initiative designed to increase fibre consumption in the UK. Participating businesses pledge to focus on bringing more fibre to the UK national diet, either through new products or product reformulation.
One of Patak's Curry Creations kits, which make it quick and easy to cook an Indian curry at home
As part of their commitment to responsibly produce and market safe, nutritious and affordable food, our Grocery Group UK businesses report revenue based on the UK’s 2004/5 Nutrient Profiling Model and the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021. The Nutrient Profiling Model uses a formula to assess the nutritional content of foods, categorising them as either HFSS or non-HFSS.
In 2022/23, over 94% of the revenue generated from the Grocery Group UK businesses’ branded portfolio in 2022/23 came from non-HFSS products or HFSS products that are not subject to restrictions under the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021. For context, this includes everyday staples like bagged sugars, cooking oils, cooking sauces and condiments that are not within the scope of public health-related sales restrictions.
Some 72% of revenue from the Grocery Group UK businesses’ branded portfolio came from foods that are classified as non-HFSS. These include staples such as bread, crispbreads, tea, flour, rice and noodles, as well as some breakfast cereals (including muesli and some granola recipes), cooking sauces and condiments.
Finally, foods designated HFSS that are also subject to sales restrictions include a small number of Grocery’s baked breakfast cereal recipes, some ice cream accompaniments and a selection of baked goods. Many of these product ranges have already been reformulated, or will be considered for reformulation in the future, subject to feasibility and consumer acceptance.
In Australia and New Zealand, George Weston Foods businesses Tip Top and Yumi’s are champions for clear food labelling. George Weston Foods actively participates in the governments’ Health Star Rating system, a voluntary front-of-pack labelling system that empowers consumers to make informed choices about the healthiness of its products. The Yumi’s brand is committed to displaying the Health Star Rating on its entire range, making it easier for consumers to understand its nutritional value.
Nutrition reporting - Grocery Group UK businesses
(% Revenue)
Tip Top was the first bakery brand to adopt the Health Star Rating system in Australia. Today, 100% of Tip Top products display a Health Star Rating, with 95% of its portfolio achieving a Health Star Rating of 3.5 or higher. Demonstrating a further commitment to nutritional improvement, Tip Top voluntarily committed to the Healthy Food Partnership nutrition targets for the bread category in Australia. The business has surpassed the 80% sodium reduction target ahead of the June 2024 deadline.
