Supermarket Junk Food Curbs Show Positive Impact
Legislation to restrict supermarket sales of foods high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) has led to a marked reduction in purchases, according to the first ever independent analysis.
The research, which was carried out in England by the University of Leeds, estimates that two million fewer in-scope HFSS products were sold per day after the new law took effect.
Before the legislation was implemented, 20 out of every 100 items sold were in-scope HFSS products. Following legislation this number dropped to 19.
For the evaluation, researchers used store level sales and product data from Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, alongside the Priority Places for Food Index , an online tool which identifies neighbourhoods most in need of support to access affordable, healthy and sustainable foods.
They also conducted surveys and interviews with representatives from the four UK supermarkets, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and enforcement officers.
Nearly 2,000 shoppers were also surveyed to find out how the legislation was perceived and how it impacted shopping behaviours.
The legislation, which restricts the location of products that are high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), was introduced in England in October 2022 as part of the UK Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy.
Data were analysed by researchers in the Nutrition and Lifestyle Analytics team at the University of Leeds, led by Professor Michelle Morris. She said: “Our research shows that the HFSS legislation was a force for good, leading to significant reduction in sales of in-scope HFSS products.
“But more now needs to be done to make healthy and sustainable diets the easy choice for our population, so that we can shift more people’s eating habits towards the national recommendations of the Eatwell Guide.”
The research is part of a broader UK Research and Innovation Transforming UK Food Systems-funded academic collaboration entitled Diet and Health Inequalities (DIO-Food), which is led by Professor Alexandra Johnstone at the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen. She said: “It is critical that any new legislation does not widen dietary inequalities for vulnerable groups, like people living with food insecurity.
“We are reassured to see from our research that the impact of the HFSS legislation was equitable in stores located in areas with different levels of priority according to the Priority Places for Food Index.”
Dr Alison Fildes, of the University of Leeds School of Psychology, was a co-investigator on the project. She added: “Our findings suggested shoppers were in favour of the HFSS legislation. However, they also expressed their support for greater promotion and affordability of healthy foods.
“Tightening the current legislating to ensure HFSS products are replaced in prominent locations with healthier foods, would go further towards helping shoppers make healthier purchases”
The legislation reduced sales of HFSS products as a proportion of total sales:
Where there was an impact seen in the retailers, it was equitable across different geographical areas:
Retailers made a variety of changes in-store in response to the legislation:
Shoppers surveyed said the legislation was a good first step:
Eight recommendations are being made to policymakers as a result of the research findings:
https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-32/news/article/5839/positive-impact-of-supermarket-junk-food-restrictions-revealed