Supermarket bans super-strength cans

Morrisons has become the first UK retailer to stop selling or producing any carbonated alcoholic cans with more than four units of alcohol in a single serve.

The retailer is the first to sign the Responsible Can Packaging Pledge, part of the Department of Health’s (DfH) Responsibility Deal, which is aiming to engage retailers to remove one billion units of alcohol from the UK market by 2015.

Morrisons is only the second company to sign up to the pledge, with the DfH struggling to entice suppliers to agree the measures.

AB InBev is the only other supplier to sign up having agreed to stop selling 500ml cans of 9% Tennents Super earlier this month, despite continuing to sell a 440ml version.

Martyn Jones, Morrisons group corporate services director said: “We wanted to set the retail standard for responsible single-serve can packaging.

“We have been monitoring our range for some time and have already removed all single serve cans with more than four units from stores. Having already taken this bold step, we felt confident in signing up to the new Responsible Can Packaging Pledge almost immediately.

 “We hope that signing up to the pledge will help support the government in reducing the incidence of alcohol related abuse in the UK. We now need other retailers to join us to make this as effective as possible.”