The Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) has raised concerns over nutrient regulations that set currently restrictions on advertising and supermarket promotions.
It argues that the 2004/05 Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) which is used to set current boundaries is “outdated” and allows for many unhealthy products to slip through the cracks.
In a new analysis, the body compared the current NPM with the revised, but not yet enforced, 2018 model. Looking at what products were advertised during a popular family show, Britain’s Got Talent Final, it reported that six out of seven would be reclassified as ‘less healthy’ under the update.
A similar gap was also identified on supermarket shelves, with 45 out of the 68 in-scope products featured in promotions at the end-of-aisle (including cakes and biscuits, sugary drinks and desserts and puddings) currently passing regulations but set to fail under the updated model.
While these products comply with England’s current regulations, OHA argues that consumers want better. Polling conducted by Savanta among a nationally representative sample of 2,211 UK adults examined opinions over a series of foods currently in scope. This included a KFC Zinger Burger (77%), McDonald’s Spicy McCrispy (71%), and Walkers Prawn Cocktail crisps (62%) – with the majority of respondents considering these as unhealthy options.
The survey also showed that more than two-thirds (69%) of adults believe children regularly see advertising for unhealthy food and drink, while 57% said the Government should do more to restrict it.
Children from the most deprived communities are disproportionately affected by an unhealthy food environment. One in five children leave primary school with obesity; this rises to almost 30% in the most deprived areas.
The OHA is now calling on Ministers to “move quickly” to implement both the updated NPM and the Healthy Food Standard. The latter was set out in the Government’s NHS 10-year plan for England earlier this year and will see large food businesses having to report on the healthfulness of their sales and targets set to improve them.
“Families expect the rules on food advertising and promotions to reflect modern nutrition science. Instead, we’re still relying on a model designed more than 20 years ago,” said Katharine Jenner, executive director of the OHA.
“Both the updated model and the Healthy Food Standard were promised in the NHS 10‑Year Plan, and countries around the world are already modernising how they identify unhealthy products based on the latest evidence - so multinational companies have long known which way the wind is blowing.
“Now they need to be implemented quickly, so the rules make sense to businesses, parents and consumers, and help ensure the food we buy is affordable, available and advertised responsibly.”
Greg Fell OBE, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, added: “The longer we go without enforcing policies that reduce the reach and impact of less healthy food and drink advertising, the more we let the health of our children, and wider communities, slip through the cracks.
“Advertising is one of the most prolific ways in which communities, and most concerningly, our children and young people, are enticed into buying foods and drinks high in fat, sugar, and salt.
“Implementing the new Nutrient Profiling Model to existing advertising and promotion restrictions is therefore not a matter of how, but rather, how soon we can act. Evidence shows that where restrictions have been put into place on advertising unhealthy foods and drinks, including across Transport for London services, consumption has reduced.
“The Government must make it a priority to apply the new standard without any further delays so that we can give every child, and our communities, the freedom to lead a healthier life free from the harms of marketing for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt.”
While health campaigners and activist groups are urging Ministers to charge ahead, the Food and Drink Federation warns a change could see producers divert investment in production innovation away from the UK.
Larger firms report that reformulation can cost up to £5 million per project. Many of these costs extend beyond ingredients and testing, covering skilled staff time, marketing and production downtime.
The FDF also notes that making products healthier doesn’t guarantee a return, with more than two-thirds (69%) of manufacturers having had a reformulated product either fail to reach launch due to consumer feedback or be removed from shelves by retailers after launch.
A similar proportion (63%) reported lower-than-expected sales, making products less commercially viable.
It’s worth noting that the aforementioned OHA research is a snapshot, designed to illustrate how application of the updated NPM could change the classification of products currently appearing in advertising and supermarket location promotions. It is not a representative analysis of all UK food advertising or supermarket promotions.
The OHA says the figures for products assessed using the updated NPM are estimates. This is because exact free sugars values are not currently available on the back-of-pack nutrition information.