‘Sugary’ checkout offers to be banned
No 10 also plans to stop multi-buy offers on foodstuffs high in sugar and fat from 2022 to tackle obesity crisis. Peter Walker, the Guardian. December 2020.
Supermarkets in England are to be barred from displaying unhealthy food and drinks at checkouts or using them in buy one, get one free offers, as part of a proposed government crackdown on obesity.
The planned restrictions were praised by health campaigners as a “bold first step” in Downing Street’s promised campaign against obesity.
The checkout restrictions will apply to other sales-boosting locations such as the entrances to stores or at the end of aisles. Similar rules will apply for websites, banning sales links to unhealthy foods on places such as homepages, or at checkout or payment pages. Restaurants will no longer be able to offer free refills of sugary drinks.
The restrictions will not come into force until April 2022, and will be subject to a consultation process first.
The rules about promotions – which would also stop all bulk buy offers on high-fat or high-sugar food and drinks – would only apply to larger retailers, those with 50 or more employees. The limits on where unhealthy foods can be located is for shops over more than 2,000 sq feet, with exemptions for specialist retailers such as chocolate shops.
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