Marks & Spencer Calls for Practical Reform of Fibre Claims to Support Gut Health Awareness

Marks & Spencer Calls for Practical Reform of Fibre Claims to Support Gut Health Awareness

(IN BRIEF) Marks & Spencer is calling on the UK Government to review current rules on fibre health claims, arguing that approved wording such as “faecal bulk” and “intestinal transit” should be replaced with simpler consumer-friendly language such as “improves gut health.” The campaign is supported by nutritionist Emily English and Dr Anisha Patel, a bowel cancer survivor and Bowel Cancer UK Ambassador. M&S says clearer messaging could help address the UK’s fibre gap, with 96 percent of adults consuming less than the recommended 30g of fibre per day. The call builds on M&S Food’s Better with Beans campaign with Bowel Cancer UK, which includes a £50,000 donation, a refreshed beans and pulses range starting from 55p, and a commitment to increase sales of affordable store cupboard bean products by 15 percent by 2028. M&S says modernised fibre messaging would help customers better understand the health role of fibre, support healthier food choices and contribute to the Government’s prevention agenda.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 10-Aug-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Marks & Spencer has joined nutritionist Emily English and Dr Anisha Patel in calling on the UK Government to review current rules on fibre health claims, arguing that retailers need clearer, more practical language to help consumers understand the benefits of fibre.

In a letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, M&S is asking for a review of permitted fibre health claims so that retailers can explain fibre’s health benefits in everyday terms.

The retailer says current approved wording, including phrases such as “faecal bulk” and “intestinal transit”, is too technical for many consumers.

M&S is calling for simpler language, such as “improves gut health”, to help customers make better-informed food choices.

The call comes amid a significant fibre intake gap in the UK.

According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, 96 percent of UK adults consume less than the recommended 30g of fibre per day.

M&S customer insight also shows that 92 percent of its customers want to eat more fibre, although many are unsure how to do so or why it matters.

Under current regulations, clear on-pack explanations of fibre benefits are restricted to technical statements such as “barley grain fibre contributes to an increase in faecal bulk” or “wheat bran fibre contributes to an accelerated intestinal transit time.”

M&S is asking the UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition to urgently review the permitted language for fibre health claims.

The company wants the rules updated to allow clearer, consumer-friendly wording that reflects current scientific evidence and supports healthier choices.

Low fibre intake is linked to a range of health risks.

M&S noted that bowel cancer is now the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with one person diagnosed every 11 minutes.

More than one in four cases are linked to low fibre intake.

The disease affects more than 48,000 people each year, including a growing number of people under the age of 50, and costs the NHS more than £1 billion annually.

The letter builds on M&S Food’s Better with Beans campaign, launched with Bowel Cancer UK to help customers better understand the role fibre plays in a healthy diet.

As part of the campaign, M&S has donated £50,000 to Bowel Cancer UK and refreshed its beans and pulses range.

Products including chickpeas, green lentils, butter beans and kidney beans are available from 55p in glass jars.

M&S has also committed to increasing sales of affordable store cupboard bean products by 15 percent by 2028, helping customers add more fibre-rich foods to everyday meals.

Alex Freudmann, Managing Director of Food at M&S, said customers are clear that they want to eat more fibre, but that current rules make it harder than necessary to explain the benefits in simple, everyday language.

He said M&S is transforming its ranges, making affordable fibre-rich foods easier to shop and raising awareness of fibre’s health benefits through its work with Bowel Cancer UK.

Freudmann added that the rules now need to catch up.

He described the requested change as practical and evidence-based, with the potential to help millions of people make healthier choices while supporting the Government’s prevention agenda.

Emily English, nutritionist and food journalist, said fibre is one of the simplest ways people can support long-term health, but that many still find the topic complicated or confusing.

She said being able to talk about fibre in normal language would make it easier for people to understand why it matters and how small, affordable changes, such as adding beans and pulses to meals, can make a meaningful difference.

Dr Anisha Patel, a bowel cancer survivor and Bowel Cancer UK Ambassador, said preventable disease remains a major driver of ill health and that many people are still unaware of the importance of fibre for long-term health.

She said a fibre-rich diet is associated with a lower risk of bowel cancer, with around one in three preventable bowel cancer cases linked to a low-fibre diet.

Dr Patel said she supports M&S’s campaign to modernise fibre health messaging, adding that allowing retailers to communicate fibre’s benefits in plain English would be a simple, practical and evidence-based change.

She said better understanding can lead to better choices, better health, reduced preventable disease, improved quality of life and lower pressure on the NHS.

M&S has supported healthier customer choices through its Eat Well proposition for more than 20 years.

The retailer now has more than 1,800 Eat Well products across its Foodhalls.

Through its call for clearer fibre messaging, M&S is seeking to make nutrition advice easier to understand while encouraging more people to include affordable, fibre-rich foods in their everyday diets.

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SOURCE: Marks and Spencer