Supermarkets in England should be banned from displaying unhealthy food and beverages at checkout, or using it to buy one, get one free offer as part of a proposed government action against obesity.
The planned restrictions were praised by health campaigns as a ‘daring first step’ in Downing Street’s promised campaign against obesity.
The payment restrictions apply to other sales-enhancing locations, such as access to stores or at the end of the aisles. Similar rules apply to sites that prohibit the sale of links to unhealthy foods on sites such as homepages, or on pay-per-view or pay-per-view sites. Restaurants can no longer offer free refills of sugar drinks.
The restrictions will only come into effect in April 2022 and will only be subject to a consultation process.
The rules regarding promotions – which also stop all offers for large and large sugars from foods and beverages with a large amount of sugar – only apply to larger retailers, those with 50 employees or more. The restrictions on where unhealthy food can be are for stores of more than 2,000 square meters, with exemptions for specialist retailers such as chocolate shops.
This follows Boris Johnson’s promise earlier this year to lower levels of excess weight and obesity. Johnson made the commitment after his serious attack on the coronavirus, which according to the prime minister was exacerbated by the fact that he was overweight.
The plans were welcomed by campaign groups, with Action on Sugar saying ministers should oppose any lobbying by the food industry.
Prof Graham MacGregor, chair of the group, said: “Finally, Downing Street is taking a bold first step in limiting the sale of junk food on multi-purchase and pay-per-view offers and one of the biggest threats to tackling Britain’s future. health – obesity in children. ”
Caroline Cerny of the Obesity Health Alliance, which brings together more than 40 health organizations, medical colleges and campaign groups, said the hope is that healthier foods will be promoted.
She said: ‘Retailers will not be tempted to buy cans of sweets in the entrances of the supermarket … The new rules do not apply until mid-2022, so the retail and food industry has enough time to prepare offers for healthier food and drinks. ”
The head of Diabetes UK, Helen Kirrane, said the restrictions were a “positive step in helping people across the UK make healthier choices when it comes to their food store”.
The definition of high fat or high sugar foods and beverages is based on existing guidelines but includes items such as chocolate and sweets, chips, soft drinks and sugar milk or juice drinks, cakes, pastries and puddings, biscuits, cereals, yoghurt, pizza , ready-meals and chips.
The government argues that rather than saving people money, promoting unhealthy items tends to simply buy people more, while the exhibits at the end of the corridor could increase soft drink sales by 50%.
“Creating an environment that helps everyone to eat healthier food on a regular basis is crucial to improving the health of the country,” said Jo Churchill, the Minister of Public Health.
In England, 63% of adults are classified as overweight or living with obesity, while a third of children leave primary school overweight or obese.