Daily Maverick: Reality bites: SA retail giants fall short on access to healthy food — report
11 March 2026An assessment of South African retailers has found that 87% of the products analysed would be classified as unhealthy when combining ultra-processed food markers and that which is high in fat, salt and sugar.
‘Africa is facing a runaway hunger problem, with 25% of South African households food insecure – that’s one in four,” Maverick Citizen editor Zukiswa Pikoli said at a webinar on Shopping & The Cost of Living Crisis in South Africa: The Reality of South Africa’s Retail Giants.
“Things are so bad that in March this year the South African Human Rights Commission will be conducting a national investigative hearing into food systems. This is aimed at addressing systemic, structural and economic causes of hunger despite national food sufficiency.”
The webinar focused on the Access to Nutrition initiative’s (ATNi) Retail Assessment 2025 which looked at how 18 leading retailers across six countries affect access to nutritious, affordable food.
South Africa’s retail environment
Shoprite, Pick n Pay and SPAR, with a market share of more than two-thirds in the sector, and where more than 80% of food is bought, were assessed, said ATNi executive director Greg Garrett.
It looked at the corporate nutrition strategies of retailers, the healthiness of their branded products, the types of products prominently promoted by retailers, and whether pricing strategies are helping or hindering access to healthier foods.
It found that retailers recognise nutrition as an investment agenda item, but this did not always translate into action.
Of the 3,496 products analysed, 87% would be classified as unhealthy when combining ultra-processed food markers (colourants, non-nutritive sweeteners, emulsifiers) and that which is high in fat, salt and sugar.