UK | Waitrose has announced an evolution of its 'Good Health' logo, introducing ingredient criteria alongside nutritional criteria.
First launched in 2018 to help shoppers easily identify healthier choices, the updated Good Health logo has shifted the focus from traditional low-calorie and low-fat metrics toward positive nutrition and ingredient transparency.
The update came as internal research revealed that 93 percent of Waitrose Food Lovers prioritise avoiding ultra-processed foods and actively check product ingredient lists.
Under the new standards, products carrying the refreshed yellow Good Health logo must meet the new dual criteria covering both nutritional profiles and ingredients.
According to Dr Joanne Lunn, Lead Nutritionist at Waitrose, customers look to Waitrose for guidance when making healthy choices, and this move enables the retailer to help Food Lovers identify even better options.
The new yellow Good Health logo will be easy to spot across a wide range of Waitrose products and will highlight healthy choices labelled according to the new criteria for both ingredients and nutrition.
“The labelling of healthy choices has evolved over the years. While the focus used to be on low calories and low fat options, we’re seeing customer demand shift towards more positive nutrition and a raised consideration of ingredients, which is why we are expanding our Good Health logo criteria to include ingredients as well as nutrition.”
To carry the updated Good Health logo on pack, products must satisfy two clear benchmarks:
- Ingredient standards: Zero additives or less recognisable ingredients, removing markers commonly associated with ultra-processed foods.
- Nutrition standards: Must carry at least one valid health/nutrition claim, classify as non-HFSS (not high in fat, sugar, or salt) under the UK government’s Nutrient Profile Score, and feature zero red traffic lights - with exceptions granted only for naturally occurring fats (e.g., nuts, seeds, avocados, milk, fish) and naturally occurring sugars. Amber traffic lights for saturated fat are only permitted if no added saturated fats are present.
The rollout of the new Good Health logo builds upon Waitrose’s ongoing additive reduction programme, which has improved the recipes of 110 own label products, removing 220 unnecessary additives over the past 20 months.
Waitrose strictly prohibits artificial colours and flavourings. It prohibits 146 specific additives, including 16 added in the last 20 months, across its entire own-label portfolio and requires suppliers to provide formal rationales for any functional additives. The list is published on the Health, nutrition and wellbeing page.
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