Multi-buy ban on sugary foods may be scrapped under government review
Ministers may rip up its strategy to tackle obesity after a new review has been ordered into incoming rules around the promotion of unhealthy food, it has been reported.
The Guardian newspaper has reported that Prime Minister Liz Truss could scrap a ban on foods that are high fat, salt or sugar being displayed prominently in shops as well as one out ruling multi-buy deals.
According to the newspaper’s sources in Whitehall, the review would be deregulatory in focus”.
One source told the newspaper that there did not “seem to be any appetite” from the new health secretary Thérèse Coffey “for nanny state stuff.”
Retailers had pumped “hundreds of millions of pounds” into adapting store layouts to comply with the first tranche of changes coming in on 1 October, Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said.
He added: “They are understandably concerned by reports that it could be scrapped and would like clarity that the money they have spent has not been wasted at a time when their primary focus is holding down the cost of food for their customers.”
While supermarkets were eager to help the government to “make a real difference in tackling obesity,” a “coherent and comprehensive strategy that is targeted and avoids unnecessary costs” was required, Opie said.
CityA.M. has approached the Department of Health for comment.