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About Us
Our Businesses
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Responsibility
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Our Grocery businesses are united by our Group purpose: to provide safe, nutritious and affordable food.
A colleague checks Westmill noodles for quality at our factory in Trafford, UK
In line with the Group approach, all Grocery businesses work to ensure the safety, legality, quality, integrity and authenticity of their raw materials and third-party and finished products, the latter comprising materials for further processing or retail products. This is achieved primarily by manufacturing sites developing and maintaining business management systems, certificated by third party audits against a Global Food Safety Initiative (‘GFSI’) standard. Raw materials, third-party products and finished products are monitored on a risk-assessed basis to confirm compliance with defined parameters, either in-house or by third-party accredited laboratories, and in many cases both.
Grocery Group businesses employ food safety specialists who are responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance with the required legislation, certification, in-house and customer standards, and the approval of third-party manufacturers and their products. Food Safety and Quality Culture programmes are in place across all businesses. Food safety related training is typically refreshed annually.
Processes and equipment used to measure food safety and quality parameters are subject to ongoing verification and at least annual validation. ABF commissions random food safety audits at manufacturing sites, which are conducted by RQA, an insurance-approved risk reduction company. Grocery food businesses also participate in working groups to share learnings regarding food safety issues and, where appropriate, discuss corrective actions. Grocery Group businesses sit on relevant trade bodies primarily setting standards, and promoting the sector.
Twinings Ovaltine’s Polish and UK manufacturing sites are certified against the FSSC 22000, a GFSI standard, and 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 commitment to provide safe, nourishing food for the communities it serves.
Our Grocery businesses have always taken nutritional factors into account when developing their product portfolios, which include staples such as bread, flour, rice, noodles, sugar, tea, cooking sauces and breakfast cereals.
To support this, and wherever relevant to the product category, they follow nutrition policies and a framework for communicating any health and environmental claims across their products and brands.
Mighty White Protein Bread, developed by Kingsmill and launched in 2026
Grocery Group businesses in the UK have internal policies to ensure compliance with relevant regulations and industry codes of practice on responsible marketing. They also carefully consider the placement, content and execution of advertising for products considered high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), ensuring children under 16 are not targeted.
Many products already support healthier choices, from high-fibre breakfast cereals, crispbreads and wholemeal bread to specialist sports nutrition ranges. In 2026, new product development focused on delivering non-HFSS and fibre-rich products. Dorset Cereals expanded its granola and muesli portfolio with fibre-focused innovation, launching a new No Added Sugar granola range that is also high in fibre, alongside a new Fabulous High Fibre muesli recipe. Allied Bakeries, which has since been brought together with Hovis Group as Hovis Bakeries, expanded its Allinson’s sourdough range with a new Seeded Sourdough loaf, providing a source of fibre for consumers who enjoy authentic sourdough bread.
Consumer interest in products offering protein continues to influence Grocery product ranges. In 2026, Kingsmill launched Mighty White Protein Bread, a white bread with no bits, delivering 15g protein in 2 slices and providing a source of fibre. Developed with a new ingredient from AB Mauri, the protein comes from a combination of wheat protein and fava bean protein isolate. Jordans Cereals reformulated its Protein Boost Granola range to reduce sugar and increase fibre, improving recipes from a Nutri-Score D to a Nutri-Score A while maintaining its source of protein claim.
Grocery Group continues to work 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 the FDF’s Action on Fibre, an initiative to increase fibre consumption in the UK by helping to close the shortfall between the recommended daily fibre intake and current national consumption levels. Since the programme began in 2021, members across the industry have launched nearly 500 new and reformulated products, delivering an additional two billion servings of fibre to the UK population1.
1.https://www.fdf.org.uk/fdf/our-work/our-campaigns/action-on-fibre/
As part of its commitment to responsibly produce and market safe, nutritious and affordable food, our Grocery Group businesses in the UK 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, enabling them to be categorised as either HFSS (high in fat, sugar or salt) or non-HFSS.
In 2025, the fourth year of voluntary reporting, 96% of the revenue generated from the UK Grocery Group businesses’ branded portfolio, including Hovis, 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.
Foods designated as HFSS that are also subject to sales restrictions amounted to 4% of revenue from the Grocery Group businesses in the UK. They include a small number of baked breakfast cereals, some ice cream accompaniments and a selection of baked goods. Many of these product ranges will be considered for reformulation in the future, subject to feasibility and consumer acceptance. This group of products also includes some that are classified as HFSS based on 100g servings although they are typically eaten in much smaller quantities, like cooking pastes, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, as well as some high-fibre mueslis with no-added-sugar that are classified as HFSS due to containing natural sugars and fats from fruits, nuts and seeds.
| Non-HFSS Branded Products | HFSS Branded Products | HFSS Branded Products and Subject to restrictions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 58% | 37% | 5% |
In the same period, some 59% of revenue from the branded portfolio of Grocery Group businesses in the UK 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.
In Australia and New Zealand, George Weston Foods’ businesses Tip Top and Yumi’s support clear food labelling practices to help consumers make informed choices. Both businesses actively participate in the voluntary Health Star Rating front-of-pack labelling system.
Yumi’s displays the Health Star Rating across its entire range, while Tip Top was one of the first bakery brands to adopt the Health Star Rating system in Australia. Since 2018, 100% of all Tip Top retail products in Australia have displayed a Health Star Rating, with 95% achieving a 3.5 or higher. Tip Top continues to support the Australian Government's Healthy Food Partnership by improving the nutritional profile of its bread products. In 2026, 80% of the bread range met the Government's recommended reformulation targets for the category.
In 2026, Tip Top relaunched its Bürgen range, which all carries a 5 Health Star Rating. The business has also expanded its flagship Tip Top The One range with the launch of Tip Top The One Digestive Health, a new bread, available in soft white and soft wholemeal varieties. The new range provides 30% of an adult’s recommended daily fibre intake in two slices and also carries a 5 Health Star Rating. Tip Top also launched a Nutrition Policy outlining its approach to nutrition and health based on transparency, choice and responsible advertisement.
