Another of the most senior supermarket figures in the UK has responded personally to the accusations made by The Publican's Dump the Deals campaign.
A letter from Asda president Andy Bond has joined the one received by The Publican last week from Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King.
Proving that Dump the Deals and Labour MP John Grogan's early day motion (EDM) on the issue is exerting real pressure on high-profile retailers, Bond's letter defends Asda's record on responsible alcohol sales.
It follows The Publican's letter to the Big Four supermarkets - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - asking them to justify their use of alcohol as a loss leader.
More than 160 MPs from across the House of Commons have now signed Grogan's EDM.
While Bond's letter skirts the issue of below-cost selling, Mr Bond cited Asda's involvement in a number of responsible drinking initiatives as proof that it was tackling challenges including under-age drinking and binge drinking.
Mr Bond said such proof came from the fact that Asda applies the Challenge 21 policy in stores, and from data from a sales monitoring system showing beers, wines and spirits were not bought in isolation. He also pointed to Asda's lower-than-average failure rate of eight per cent in government stings last October on licensed premises selling to underage customers.
"Asda aims to offer great value on all of the products we sell," Mr King said. "Our customers expect us to sell a great range of products and services at famously low prices… but not at any cost. That's why we recognise we have a responsibility to not only do the right thing for our customers and colleagues, but also for the wider community.
"We are committed to ensuring that we sell alcohol responsibly and take the issue very seriously indeed."
Asda and Sainsbury's responses have raised the pressure on Tesco and Morrisons to also address the industry's concerns.