Restrictions on Advertising of HFSS (High Fat Salt and Sugar) Products

Yesterday the Government announced new rules on advertising unhealthy foods online and before 9pm on TV across the UK as part of the program to reduce child obesity .

Regulations will come into force at the end of next year to introduce a 9pm watershed for advertisements of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).

The new rules apply to TV and UK on-demand programmes, as well as restrictions on paid-for advertising of HFSS foods online as part of the government’s ongoing commitment to tackle unhealthy eating habits at source. However, due to the online element there had been concern that a lot of small local operators would have to change how they marketed their products to their local market, many being dependant on communication channels such as Facebook.

The regulations follow public consultation to which UK Hospitality provided a detailed response, highlighting the impact it would have for businesses and thus secured some significant concessions for hospitality businesses which include:

• SMEs (under 250 employees) are excluded
• only paid for social media advertising will be affected (previous proposals included any online, social media posts or app communications featuring HFSS foods.
• Brands themselves can still advertise, if not showing HFSS food as part of TV/online advertising 
• Transactional content is now exempt (for example pictures of HFSS foods on ordering apps)

The Office for Health Promotion to be launched fully later this year - will lead national efforts to improve and level up the health of the nation by continuing the fight against obesity, improving mental health and promoting physical activity.

Public Health Minister, Jo Churchill, said:

“We are committed to improving the health of our children and tackling obesity. The content youngsters see can have an impact on the choices they make and habits they form. With children spending more time online it is vital we act to protect them from unhealthy advertising.

These measures form another key part of our strategy to get the nation fitter and healthier by giving them the chance to make more informed decisions when it comes to food. We need to take urgent action to level up health inequalities. This action on advertising will help to wipe billions off the national calorie count and give our children a fair chance of a healthy lifestyle.”