Promotions of unhealthy foods restricted from October 2022

The government has confirmed that promotions on food and drinks high in fat salt or sugar in retailers will be restricted from October 2022.

Regulations will be laid in Parliament that will require medium and large businesses, including those with 50 or more employees, to phase out their offering of multibuy promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘3 for 2’ offers on such products.

Under the changes, less healthy promotions will also no longer be featured in key locations, such as checkouts, store entrances, aisle ends and their online equivalents. Free refills of sugary soft drinks will also be prohibited in the eating-out sector.

Following consultation with industry, the decision to extend the implementation date of this policy – from April 2022 to October 2022 - will allow businesses enough time to prepare for these restrictions.

As part of the regulations, the government will provide local authorities with the option of issuing civil penalties for non-compliance with the promotions restrictions.

Public Health Minister Jo Churchill, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the impact that an unhealthy weight can have on people’s health. We know families want the healthy choice to be the easy choice, and restricting promotions on unhealthy foods will help them achieve this.

“We want to support everyone to eat healthier foods more regularly and this starts with helping supermarkets and manufacturers promote healthier food choices lower or free from HFSS, to support families to make healthier choices. These restrictions will come into force from October 2022. I look forward to working together with everyone to ensure that for families a healthy option is the easy option when shopping.”