Sainsbury’s received a relatively high overall score and came fourth out of ten supermarkets in the 2021 ranking. While the company has dropped one place since 2019, this is largely due to other supermarkets increasing their efforts on pesticides combined with Sainsbury’s unwillingness to publicly share some of the good work it is doing. When compared to most other supermarkets, the company is doing well on supporting its suppliers to use non-chemical alternatives and has one of the largest organic ranges for sale. However, Sainsbury’s publishes very little information on its approach to pesticides and so scored poorly on transparency. As with all other UK supermarkets, Sainsbury’s could be doing more to reduce pesticide-related harms in its global supply chains.

Sainsbury’s pesticide policy includes a clear commitment to minimise pesticide use by its suppliers and the company has a wide range of measures in place to help farmers transition to non-chemical methods of pest control. It has developed Crop Action Groups and Grower Interaction Groups which offer technical support, bespoke advice and on-the-ground guidance for growers. These groups encourage peer-to-peer learning and provide a space for growers to support one another and share best practices and case studies on reducing pesticide use. The company also funds research activities with the specific aim of developing and trialling innovative non-chemical pest management techniques.

The company told PAN UK that it makes efforts to reduce post-harvest use of pesticides through a range of measures including using biopesticides and non-chemical treatment for rots and ensuring that produce is packed, stored and transported in a way which lessens the need for fungicides (which prevent fresh produce from rotting).

Sainsbury’s told PAN UK that the number of organic product lines it stocks is approaching 1,000, although did clarify that this includes seasonal products so does not necessarily represent what is on sale at any one time. The company also said that it has plans in place to increase its own ‘So organic’ range and now has a dedicated team in place to look into new “organic opportunities”. Sainsbury’s also undertakes a wide range of activities designed to communicate the benefits of organic to its customers and boost organic sales. Activities include collaborations with the Organic Trade Board as well as a range of promotional events linked to Organic September and beyond. While Sainsbury’s is making good progress on promoting organic produce, it doesn’t currently have any measures in place to support its suppliers to convert to organic food production.

Sainsbury’s continues to test a wider range of food items for pesticide residues than most other UK supermarkets. The list of products they test includes fruits and vegetables, rice, fish, meat, dairy, ready meals, baby food, wine, beer, herbs and spices, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coffee, tea, pulses and wheat products such as bread and pasta. In response to being asked how the company deals with the most serious residue problems, Sainsbury’s told PAN UK that it has a range of corrective actions in place. When its testing programme identifies a product containing residues which exceed 50 percent of the legal limit, then it triggers an investigation; possible solutions are discussed in grower groups and the problem will be flagged for monitoring. This is positive since many supermarkets only take action once a legal residue limit has actually been exceeded. In addition, Sainsbury’s also told PAN UK that repeated incidences of high residue levels result in more in-depth investigations being carried out.

As well as having detailed plans in place for dealing with residues, Sainsbury’s also uses the results of its residue testing programme to help identify which farmers need greater support. The company also uses its residue data to inform its broader approach to driving uptake of non-chemical alternatives among its suppliers and to help it decide which pesticides to monitor, restrict or prohibit from use within its global supply chains.

Sainsbury’s has strengthened its efforts to involve customers in reducing pesticide use in their supply chains:

• Sainsbury’s sells fruit and vegetables that aren’t perfect through its “Imperfectly Tasty” range, thereby reducing the need for cosmetic pesticides. The company told us that it has added ten new products to the range in the past year and that it now includes a total of 40 different product lines. The range has recently been rebranded and Sainsbury’s encourages its customers to buy it via online and in-store promotions.
• In response to complaints from customers who find a bug in fresh produce, Sainsbury’s has now started explaining that this may be because their suppliers are using less pesticides.
• The company also continues to make efforts to promote fruit and vegetables that are in season and therefore more likely to be grown closer to home. It does this via recipe recommendations and wider campaigns that encourage customers to eat more fresh produce. Keeping supply chains short tends to lessen the need to use fungicides which prevent fresh produce from rotting while they are being transported.

While Sainsbury’s has no plans in place to phase-out all highly hazardous pesticides, the company does have lists of specific pesticides which it either monitors, restricts or prohibits from use within its global supply chains. Sainsbury’s told PAN UK that these lists are regularly updated based on a broad range of criteria and in consultation with an external expert. Sainsbury’s also told PAN UK that, in the past two years, the company has added a number of specific pesticides to its monitored, restricted and prohibited lists but declined to name them. Given that Sainsbury’s is one of the few supermarkets that has pesticide lists but chooses not to make them public, this information has been impossible to verify.

Like most other supermarkets, Sainsbury’s could be doing more to ensure that stronger worker safety measures are in place when dealing with pesticides that pose a particular threat to human health.

Sainsbury’s continues to have a range of measures in place designed to encourage its suppliers to adopt pollinator-friendly practices such as planting wildflowers, providing guidance and running workshops on how to protect pollinators, creating forums to bring farmers together to share tips and advice, and funding research into pollinator-health. Sainsbury’s also told us that it monitors, restricts or prohibits some pesticides that can be particularly toxic to bees and other pollinators. However, since Sainsbury’s is one of the few supermarkets that doesn’t publish its lists of pesticides it has been impossible to confirm these claims. We do know, however, that while Sainsbury’s has placed some restrictions on the use of bee-toxic neonicotinoids in its supply chains, the company has fallen short of banning them completely.

Sainsbury’s doesn’t currently require its suppliers to monitor pollinator activity, though did tell PAN UK that it has started working with the Environment Agency on “a project around environmental standards and metrics” and is currently exploring biodiversity monitoring tools.

In common with the majority of UK supermarkets, Sainsbury’s continues to sell pesticides on its shelves. Since the last ranking in 2019, the company has made changes to its own brand range and now only offers products containing the more benign active ingredients pelargonic acid and ferric phosphate. However, this restriction does not apply to the branded products it sells which continue to include high-risk synthetic pesticides.

Sainsbury’s also continues to offer deals and discounts on pesticides, a practice which can encourage shoppers to buy more than they need. This often leads to unused pesticides being poured down the sink or put in landfill which can contaminate water and soil. It also contravenes the UN International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management which says that retailers should not offer “incentives or gifts to encourage the purchase of pesticides”. Sainsbury’s does include information on its website about the potential dangers associated to using pesticide products, but still makes no effort to provide this information to its customers in-store.

Since the last supermarket ranking in 2019, Sainsbury’s has made very limited progress in increasing transparency on its approach to pesticides. The company still does not publish its pesticide policy, the results of its in-house residue testing programme, or the lists of pesticides that it monitors, restricts and prohibits from use within its supply chains. However, Sainsbury’s did provide PAN UK with examples of where it has made this information public at stakeholder events and conferences, and pointed to its webpages highlighting the work of its Crop Action Groups (see section on supporting suppliers). By being one of the only top ten UK supermarkets to not publish any of this information, Sainsbury’s is less transparent about pesticides than the majority of its competitors.