Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco and Safeway will be questioned on concerns over their treatment of suppliers. The Office of Fair Trading reported that there was a "widespread belief" that   the Supermarket Code of Practice was not working effectively (PrintWeek, 25 February).

The report prompted the OFT to launch a compliance audit. A report is expected at the end of the year.

Industry bodies the Packaging Federation and the BPIF have welcomed the government move. The BPIF has urged suppliers to come forward with hard evidence of flaws and added that it could be the industry's last chance. The OFT has so far had to rely on anecdotal evidence.

"There has been no direct evidence sent to us, which means we can't go back to the OFT to tell them where they should be looking," said BPIF director of corporate and external affairs Cicely Brown.

"The Government is now taking this seriously, however when you are lobbying you have to put a strong business case," she added.

But the Packaging Federation chief executive Ian Dent argued that the initial findings of the OFT earlier provided strong evidence.

"I think there has been good information provided and there's no smoke without fire," he said.

"But there is a fear factor and I think Sutcliffe's meeting with the retailers will move the situation forward."

Story by Philip Chadwick