Speciality Food Magazine

John Mackey, chief executive of Whole Foods admitted that he has betrayed shoppers with fat-laden treats instead of leading a nutritious food revolution in London. Reported in The London Paper on Wednesday, he said, “We sell a bunch of junk. We've decided if Whole Foods doesn't take a leadership role in educating people about a healthy diet, who the heck is going to do it?”

Taking this surprising stance he is calling on retailers to take responsibility for educating customers about healthy eating and is keen to raise questions about other supermarket chains which heavily promote the organic and healthy credentials of their produce.

A spokeswoman for the British Nutrition Foundation said, “British retailers need to heed this message. There is too much promotion of biscuits and chocolate with special offers. There needs to be a better balance. They have a part to play in educating consumers.”

Staff at the stores in Kensington, Camden and Stoke Newington will now be trained to advise on healthy eating and be “bribed” to lose weight.

Opened in Kensington in 2007, the aim of Whole Foods was to promote healthy and organic food and drink, but Mr Macket admitted that it had let its customers down, and is now vowing to stop welcoming customers with piles of giant meringues, white bread and chocolate cakes and offer in-store nutrition experts instead.

His comments come after the Food Standards Agency said consumers were being duped into thinking that organic produce was better for them, when in fact it had no extra health benefits. Whole Foods' “healthy eating” initiative, set to start in the autumn, will give the brand a higher profile in London that bosses hope will lure in more shoppers, much needed in view of the fact that the US-based company's expansion to Britain has been a financial disaster so far.

Since the Kensington branch opened in the former Barkers department store in June 2007, it has been forced to write off close to £50 million. Smaller stores in Camden, Clapham, Soho and Stoke Newington have also struggled as consumers cut back on expensive treats.

Jeff Turnas, the former North Atlantic region head who has been parachuted in to salvage Whole Food's British arm, said he hoped the revamped product range would connect with a demand created by the recession for natural, nutritious food. He said: “We're not trying to get preachy and say to customers you should do this and you shouldn't do that' but we need to help customers be healthy for whatever diet they choose to follow.”

US nutrition experts will fly over to Britain next month to train staff at the Kensington store to advise customers, give cooking demonstrations and offer nutritional recipes. There is already a dedicated “healthy pantry” in the store, which stocks healthy products, and that approach will be adopted throughout the store.

Mr Mackey, who lost 10lb in six months by cutting out fatty, processed food now wants to launch a scheme to “bribe” staff into getting fitter and leaner, with employees being given bigger discounts off the store's products if they meet targets to lose weight, stop smoking or reduce their cholesterol or blood pressure.