In front of the fruit and vegetable section, many families now count every penny. Apples, carrots and fresh fish are seeing rising prices, while ultra-processed dishes remain more accessible. The ideal diet for nutritionists seems far from the receipt.
On February 17, 2026, UFC-Que Choisirwith
Foodwatch, Rural Families and the
Catholic Relief – Caritas Francelaunched a petition with the explicit title: “Let’s demand 100 healthy foods at cost price in supermarkets!“. These associations want to force large brands to sell
100 products recommended by the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS) cost pricewhile 29% of French people say they have to skip a meal due to lack of money.
Why is UFC-Que Choisir targeting 100 healthy foods at cost price?
In the text of the petition, the tone is straightforward: “In supermarkets, too often, the healthiest products are also the most expensive. Since 2023, we have been denouncing the opacity of the prices of our food and the abusive margins on products essential for health, such as fruits and vegetables.“, explains UFC-Que Choisir. The official advice “eat 5 fruits and vegetables per day” or “cook at home” becomes difficult to follow when the budget no longer follows.
The associations point out that food has become the variable for adjusting the budget: almost one in three French people, or 29%, say they have to skip a meal due to lack of money. At the same time, diseases linked to poor diet – diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers – are exploding and costing the community billions. However, five brands, E.Leclerc, Intermarché, Auchan, Carrefour and Coopérative U, already control 80% of the food market.
A coalition of 32 associations facing the government
Around the UFC-Que Choisir, the mobilization has expanded: 32 associations of consumers, fight against precariousness, patients, students or environmental health actors, including France Assos Santénow carry the same request. “It is up to the State to finally enforce the right to healthy, sustainable, chosen food and to make official public health recommendations accessible. 100 products sold at cost price in supermarkets, it is not only possible but urgent“, they write in their joint appeal.
Every day, the petition and its new signatures are sent by e-mail to Roland Lescure, Minister of the Economy, and to Serge Papin, Minister of SMEs and Purchasing Power. The organizations are demanding that the sale at cost price of 100 priority health products become compulsory in all supermarkets, including overseas, without reducing the remuneration of farmers. Familles Rurales, UFC-Que Choisir and Foodwatch also contacted the Competition Authority for a sectoral investigation into price formation and the equalization of margins.
Here are the food families concerned in supermarkets
Based on the PNNS recommendations, the list of 100 foods brings together simple everyday products, designed for “homemade”. It also includes a significant portion of organic products and highlights French sectors, covering fruits and vegetables, cereal products such as pasta, flour or bread, but also eggs, dairy products, fish, butter, sugar or spices.