Food: Marketing

(asked on 15th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's Tackling Obesity strategy, published in July 2020, whether it is his Department's policy to restrict the promotion or sale of lunchtime meal deals; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 23rd March 2021

In December 2020 we published our response to the 2019 consultation on restricting promotions of products that are high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) by location and price. The response confirmed the categories in scope of the restrictions and that the 2004/05 Nutrient Profiling Model will be used to define whether a product in these categories is HFSS.

Meal deals are generally targeted as lunch options for adults to consume on the go that day rather than being stockpiled at home and they aim to reduce the cost of a single meal. Therefore, it was decided that these types of price promotion will not be in scope of the volume price promotion restrictions. However, HFSS products that come under a category in scope of the policy would still be subject to the location restrictions, regardless of whether it is part of a meal deal.

Easter eggs can be found on the shelves and in key prominent locations in stores, such as end of aisle, checkouts and store entrances, up to three months before Easter and consumers typically buy these products as soon as they are available in shops and offered on promotion. Therefore, these products are in scope of the promotion restrictions.

Reticulating Splines