THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been asked to investigate the dominance of the UK's four biggest supermarkets.
The call came from groups representing farmers, small suppliers, corner shops and environmentalists.
They want the competition watchdog to carry out a full market review because of recent acquisitions by the big chains. The latest came with the takeover of 114 Jacksons convenience stores by Sainsbury's.
The application has been made by Friends of the Earth, the Association of Convenience Stores, the National Federation of Women's Institutes and Farm, a group representing farmers.
Sandra Bell, supermarkets campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "The domination of the grocery market by the biggest supermarkets has been allowed to increase, unchecked, since the last investigation over four years ago.
"The Office of Fair Trading has so far turned a deaf ear to concerns about loss of small shops, bullying of suppliers and erosion of consumer choice.
"As consumers, we are in danger of losing any choice over where we shop, and environmental and social standards are under threat as supermarket suppliers are forced to cut costs.''
The application names Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article